


Spider-Man and the New York PD

by Moonlightsplash



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 15:30:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 25,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12890922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonlightsplash/pseuds/Moonlightsplash
Summary: Spider-Man AU.  Peter's alone in the world and struggling to get by.  The NYPD might be just what is needed to get him back on his feet.





	Spider-Man and the New York PD

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer-Marvel owns all rights to Spider-Man.
> 
> This story contains mild slash between Peter Parker and Tony Stark at the very end. Its gen until that point.

Peter tugged at the tie around his neck and loosened it up a bit. MJ smiled at him from the bottom of the staircase and he made his way down to her, trying not to stumble. 

“Well? Did it go okay?”

He nodded. “It did.” He patted his pocket. “I’ve been granted ‘emancipated minor’ status and am now considered an adult.”

She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “I’m so happy for you, Peter.”

He sighed. “Me, too. I’m ready to go home, MJ.”

It took over an hour to get back home. MJ had hugged him on the porch and offered to come inside, but he’d turned her down. This was his life now and he needed to get used to it. The silence was deafening. He still had to go through Aunt May’s room and box up her things. Shaking his head in denial, he ventured into the kitchen to make a bit of dinner. All he had now was his part-time job paycheck, so he’d have to be really careful with everything.

It was late that night when he sat in his bedroom and stared at the pile before him. The familiar red and blue outfit had been a part of him for almost two years now. But… There was no place in his life for things like that anymore. It was going to take his every spare moment to work enough to keep the bills paid. No way would he be able to go to college. Once he graduated High School, he’d have to look for full time work.

He picked up the pair of scissors and grabbed the leg of his costume. Cutting it into tiny pieces went surprisingly quickly. Only a minute later he was staring at a tiny pile of red and blue fabric scraps. He scraped the pile off into the trash can, pulled out the bag and carried it out to the trash can.

Those days… Those days were in the past.

 

The days became a mind-numbing blur of work to Peter. He spent his weekdays in school, most of his spare time working and late nights doing homework. There was almost no time to socialize. His one and only one, personal treat he had was visiting his tech pile. He’d built it up in one of Doc Oc’s old underground bases and spent hours down there, tearing down robots, documenting them and creating his own database of information on them.

Ever since he’d started visiting it again, he’d found that his mood had improved. He’d even taken down a couple of small attacks by robots, just to take them back to the database and give himself something else to document. He’d finally come to realize why he liked it so much. It was a small way to stay in touch with his favorite subject… science.

But this… He’d never imagined this! MJ was glaring holes in him with her eyes as she stood before him with her hands on her hips. 

“Enough, Peter Parker! You’re working yourself into the ground! You’ve got to take a night off every now and then!”

He frowned at her. This was one of his rare nights free and he was going to the tech pile. He didn’t want to miss it. “MJ, I don’t have time to take a night off. Even working as much as I can, there’s never enough money. I am just barely keeping the bills paid. Go back home.”

She threw him a look and turned around, linking her arm through his. “Fine. I’ll be going with you tonight then. You spend too much time alone, Peter.”

Peter remembered a time when that would have made him happy to hear. Those days though, they were long gone. He finally shrugged. “Whatever. You’re going to be bored though.”

“I don’t care.”

It was a 30 minute trip via public transportation to the right area and a 10 minute walk to the entrance of the base. MJ was looking around warily, but Peter knew the neighborhood. He turned them down an alley, heading straight for a steel door with an electronic lock. He typed in his code and opened the door, ushering her inside.

The lights came on automatically once the door shut and Peter went down the staircase towards the main floor.

“What… What is this, Peter?” MJ finally asked him once they both were off the stairs. They were surrounded by piles of robots and electronics. All of them neatly separated.

Peter shrugged. “It’s my tech pile. I’ve been saving an example of everything I’ve fought as Spider-Man and tearing it down. Then I can figure out how to shut it down even quicker. It was useful back when I thought superheroing was needed. Now, it’s just a hobby.”

Peter had a robot on his worktable already and drug out his notebooks and tools. MJ would have to entertain herself. His time for entertainment was scarce and he was going to use it.

 

MJ watched as Peter started his tinkering before sighing. He was making it, but… Not well. He was spending all of his time at school or work or alone. At 16, he had forgotten to have fun. And goodness but he was thin! She studied him a bit closer. He was still quite muscular, but his bones were more pronounced now and he was starting to look a bit gaunt. His enhanced metabolism probably was the problem. Even without being Spider-Man, it probably took a lot more for him just to keep himself up.

Seeing that Peter was lost in his work, she turned back to the pile of robots and started walking through it. The stash turned out to be a lot larger than she’d thought. It took almost an hour to get through it all. She had no idea what most of it was, but just the thought that Peter had fought all of them was a bit chilling. She made her way back to his workroom and pulled up a stool, content to watch for a while. She had no idea how long it was before he stopped and looked over.

“What is it?”

“What?”

“MJ, that’s the third time you’ve sighed in five minutes. I TOLD you that you’d be bored.”

“I didn’t say anything!” 

“You didn’t have to.” Peter walked over and held out her hand. “Give me your phone.”

She looked at his hand for a moment before handing over her phone. Peter took it and walked over to a computer tower and plugged her phone in, typing rapidly. It beeped a couple of times before he unplugged it and returned it to her.

“There. Now you can browse the database and entertain yourself until I’m done.” He said and handed it back to her. She had a new icon on her phone called EDB. Peter left her and she clicked it. It pulled up a rather plain webpage with a search bar and several links on it. It was fascinating stuff. She searched by type of robot, by color, by size… It always pulled up links. Peter had included detailed breakdowns of the robot’s construction, its weak points, videos of them running if he had them, news articles and his first hand observations. He also had a tab on every page that listed how to shut down or destroy it.

“Peter! This is awesome stuff! I can’t believe everything that you’ve managed to get done here!”

He looked up at her, pen still in hand and the robot’s arm was completely disassembled in front of him. “There’s a lot more to do but I don’t have the time I used to. Either collecting robots or disassembling them.” He looked over at his phone. “What time are you supposed to be home?”

“10:00pm.”

“Not good. We’re going to have to hurry if you’re going to get home in time.” He stood up and threw a piece of plastic over the robot arm and put his notebook and pen back in the drawer.

“Come on, MJ.”

“No! Peter, I don’t want to cut into your time! I can get in trouble this time. Aunt Anna will understand.”

He shook his head. “Nope. I don’t want it getting around that I’m leading you astray. Someone would call Child Welfare on me in a second.”

She sighed and all the fight went out of her. He was right. It wasn’t worth it. She shouldn’t have come and ruined his free night. They were walking their way back to the bus station when an idea finally hit her.

“Hey, Peter?”

“Hmm?”

“Have you ever thought of giving the local cops access to your database? They could use something like that.”

Peter actually shuddered and his hand rose to his stomach quickly. His head was shaking ‘no’ rapidly and her face fell.

“I’m sorry, Peter. I can’t believe that I forgot about that.”

He blew his breath out. “Cops and I don’t get along so well, MJ. This is just a hobby for me and nothing more.”

She leaned into him and hugged him tightly. “I won’t say anything, Peter.”

“I know, MJ. I wouldn’t have brought you otherwise.”

 

MJ sat at the park with her friends and for once, she felt a bit lost. She hadn’t seen Peter since Friday at school, but she’d noticed right away that he was even thinner. She’d hoped that with the extra hours he worked over the summer, he might have been able to eat more, but… evidently not. It worried her endlessly and there wasn’t a single thing she could do about it. This was their senior year and after this one, everyone would go their own separate ways.

Once upon a time, she’d thought Peter would have been a shoo-in for the high paying scientist job, but life had run him over. He’d changed jobs over the summer and was working as an electronics repairman at a local place. They were more willing to let him work the evenings and weekends he needed to be able to attend High School. 

It just seemed so wrong to be out here enjoying herself when he was fighting to keep his head above water.

“MJ! What is wrong with you today, girl? I thought with all these cute young cops here, you’d be on your game!” Liz told with a laugh. MJ forced herself to smile.

“It’s nothing I guess. Honestly, I think I’m just having an ‘off’ day.” She felt an arm slip around her shoulders.

“Uh-uh, MJ. Even my dad is over there with his buddy, Sergeant Hillson for goodness sake! You need to have more fun.” Stacy told her. “We’re seniors now. Won’t be long and we’ll be the ones working all the time and looking grim.”

“They DO look grim, Stacy. What’s going on?” Liz asked her.

Stacy shrugged. “Dad’s been hearing a lot of stuff, but basically… The cops are getting their butts kicked out there. The rise in ‘supervillains’ is almost unheard of and it seems that all of them use technology now.”

“Honey, that’s what the Avengers and the FF are for.” MJ told her, patting her arm.

Stacy shook her head. “Haven’t you been following the news lately? After the Chitauri invasion, superhuman and mutant registration, Ultron and the Sokovia Accords, they’re gone. All that’s left of the Avengers is Stark as Iron Man, his buddy Rhodes as War Machine and Sam Wilson as the Falcon. None of them are superhumans. They just use technology to help them fight.”

“Really MJ. I watched a special the other night about it. Word is that there AREN’T any superhumans left alive and only a handful of mutants that don’t want anything to do with us.” Liz said. “It’s really sad. We should have done more to help the ones we had instead of attacking them.”

Stacy nodded. “Dad said that we should have taken care of Spider-Man when he was still around, instead of attacking him. That guy could handle pretty much anything! He said the guys at the precinct still talk about ‘what ifs’ whenever they run across another villain they can’t handle.”

Liz nodded too. “He was on that special the other night. He vanished after he was shot in the back by the NYPD. They had a Doctor on there that said that shot was probably fatal, just based on the location of the wound. The cop that did it was investigated and found to be on the Kingpin’s payroll.”

“Dad said it led to a huge investigation and a lot of bad cops got tossed in jail because of it. See? Even when he’s not around anymore, Spider-Man is still helping us.”

MJ couldn’t say a thing around the knot in her throat. Somehow, she doubted that Peter had gotten to see the special.

“Well, enough serious talk MJ! We are at the annual Police Picnic! Time to find some cute guys, girls!”

The three of them had made their way over to Stacy’s father when the screaming started. MJ looked up and found herself staring at what looked like a horde of robots hovering in the air like bugs. She felt someone grab her arm and pull. She followed along without protest as people ran everywhere, trying to get to cover. 

“Get down, girl!” Her savior snapped and she was shoved down behind a parked car. A glance over confirmed Stacy and Liz were behind the car next to her with Stacy’s dad. She looked up and found her savior was Sergeant Hillson, the friend of Stacy’s dad.

He was on a handheld radio, calling for help. All of them could hear the answer when it came.

“The Avengers are currently on a mission and unable to respond.”

Hillson smashed his forehead against the car. “Shit, shit, shit!”

MJ kept looking, but it was apparent that no one was having any success fighting the things. The explosions were getting closer now too and she sniffed, trying to hold back tears. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to call Peter when she stopped and stared at it. There it was. The icon that Peter had put on her phone. She tapped it and started typing rapidly, trying to narrow down the search.

When a page pulled up, showing the weird hovering bug robots, she could have cried. Instead, she went straight to the ‘how to shut down or destroy’ tab and prayed it was something they could do. She finally found one possibility and took a breath.

“Sergeant Hillson?”

He glanced over at her and frowned. She cleared her throat and gathered her courage.

“Do you have your gun with you?”

“I do. It won’t work against these things.”

“You need to shoot through the left eye of the things. Their CPU is stored directly behind it and they’ll shut down with a good shot.”

He stared at her in silence. “…What?”

She looked down and read her phone once more before trying to speak, but found he had his hand out. “Show me what you’re reading.”

She handed her phone over and watched as he scrolled through Peter’s incredibly detailed explanations. He met her eyes as soon as he finished. “You and I WILL be having a talk about this just as soon as this shit’s taken care of.” He told her firmly. He turned and peaked around the car.

“Jackson! You still got your rifle?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t work against these things though.”

“It might. Shoot one in the left eye for me, will you?”

MJ couldn’t make out the answer, but soon the crack of the rifle rang out, followed by a ‘thud’ and the cops started to cheer. Hillson got on his radio.

“Alright everyone! We know how to drop the bastards! Shoot them through the left eye!”

Once they had a target that worked, the NYPD made short work of the rest of them and soon the park was littered with smoking robot bodies. As all of the cops ventured out to investigate, MJ started working her way through the parking lot. She needed to get out of here. 

She almost made it, too. A strong hand clamped onto her upper arm and stopped her in her tracks. “Where are you going? I told you, we need to talk about what’s on your phone.” He turned her around and frowned. “You’re one of Stacy’s friends, right?”

She nodded, feeling quite sick to her stomach. She’d promised Peter that she wouldn’t tell anyone and the first time she was in trouble, she caved and handed it to the COPS! There probably wasn’t a worse thing she could have done.

“Oh, good lord. Please don’t cry. What’s your name?” Hillson asked her.

“MJ.” She said, sniffling.

“Well, MJ. You saved our asses today. How about coming over and telling the Captain all about the information on your phone, okay?”

She shook her head. “I can’t. I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone and the first time I was in trouble, I caved! I don’t want to cause him any trouble!”

Hillson was watching her with narrowed eyes. “Tell you what. Since it’s serious, how about you come back to the precinct with us and we’ll talk in private.” He nodded and a young cop came over and drug her to a cop car as Hillson headed back into the crowd of cops. The ride to the station was entirely too brief and she was totally panicked by the time they got there.

She was escorted into a large office and settled in a chair. The same young cop brought her a drink before walking over to stand outside the door. MJ couldn’t stop the tears from falling then. She didn’t even have her phone. The Sergeant had kept it and she couldn’t do so much as send Peter a text.

When the door opened a bit later, her tears had slowed from a flood to a trickle. She used her Kleenex to wipe her eyes once more as the Captain settled into the chair behind the desk. Sergeant Hillson sat down beside her and Stacy’s dad pulled up a folding chair to sit next to her. She twisted her Kleenex nervously.

“I haven’t broken any laws.”

“I know that, Ms. Watson. We have you here right now in the interest of saving lives. The information you gave us today saved hundreds of lives. There was no one available to assist in the takedown of those things and they would have rampaged through Queens for hours.”

“MJ, did you know the database had information on how to take down that particular type of robot?” Hillson asked her and she shook her head.

“No. I searched for it and got lucky. Most of them have to have special equipment, but that one could be shot.”

“It worked out well. Morale hasn’t been this high since before Spider-Man disappeared, Ms. Watson. We’d like to speak to the one that runs the database. We could use information like this to help keep people safe.” The Captain said quietly but MJ was already shaking her head.

“No. I’m sorry, but he has PTSD and being around cops can set it off.” She missed the looks that the three of them exchanged as she wiped her eyes again.

“Well, there’s no reason that I have to be wearing my uniform when I meet him, is there?” Hillson said. “This database is brilliant. We’d like to start making some of our own equipment and learn how to take down the damn robots on our own. Queens is our neighborhood, Ms. Watson and we’re sworn to keep it safe.”

“Does he have a bad history with the police then, Ms. Watson? We can meet him at his home if it would make it easier.”

Much to her disgust, MJ could feel her tears welling up and falling once more. “You don’t understand! It’s not so easy! He’s alone and I don’t want to mess anything up for him! What I’ve done is bad enough.”

The Captain leaned forward and looked hard at her. “Ms. Watson, you’ve already given us enough information. We can track him down based on what you’ve already told us. We’ll approach him on our own and possibly cause a few issues. Or else you can tell us what we need to know and we can work out the best way to approach this man.”

It still took another 15 minutes before MJ finally started spill the beans on Peter and his database. Then she had to go into why Peter was terrified of cops and the fact that he lived alone. She was a wreck by the time she’d finished and they called a counselor to come talk to her. It was late evening before she’d made it home and she still didn’t have her phone.

 

Hillson couldn’t help it. He grinned a little giddily at the others in the room.

“So? Do you think she was telling the truth?”

The Captain finally nodded. “I do. Never in a million years would I have thought Spider-Man had been a kid, much less that he lived in our neighborhood… But there it is. She knew details.”

“So…” Stacy’s dad, Adam Cooper said thoughtfully. “We have what might be the very last superhuman left alive living in our neighborhood. He’s not even 18 yet and has been living alone since his last relative passed at 16. He’s suffering from PTSD from being shot in the back and somehow managing to live without hospital care-…”

“Not once, but three times. I checked after the last one. He’s been shot by the NYPD three different times, each of them when he was guarding an officer with his own life. I lost count of the number of times he was tasered for doing the same thing.” The Captain interrupted. “It’s not surprising that he has no trust in the NYPD. I mean, I can explain to him that the cops were dirty, but he’s not going to feel it in here.” He said, thumping his chest. “As we all know, trust is earned over time.”

“Well, he’s alone, he’s not even 18, and suffering from PTSD from some bad experiences. How in the hell are we going to be able to approach him and get anything out of him? If he’s really Spider-Man, he could wipe the floor with us.”

“But why would he?” Hillson cut in. “He’s living in his Aunt’s home. It’s HOME. He’s not going to want to mess it up or destroy it.”

“Not only that, if word gets out that we’ve found Spider-Man, you all know as well as I do that SHIELD is going to come scoop him up whether he wants to go or not.” The Captain said. “This is going to have to be completely and totally under the radar.”

“Shit. I’d forgotten about that aspect.”

“You’re right. I guess that’s going to leave me out of it then. There is no way with a house full of women, I’m going to keep Spider-Man a secret.” Adam Cooper said sadly.

“Well, I still think you should be a part of the meet and greet Adam. We need to keep his secret to ourselves, but hopefully everyone will know about the database soon.” The Captain said.

“MJ said that he works most every weeknight at Chung’s electronic repair and usually one day of the weekend. He does his homework overnight and spends his one day off at his ‘tech pile’ as she called it. That means we’re going to have to find out when his next day off is and probably wait for him one evening when he gets home.”

“Damn. No matter how we do it, it’s going to seem threatening. We don’t have a mutual friend to work in introductions.” They all shook their heads grimly.

“Well, the sooner the better. We need access to the database and some help getting started. It may take us a while to get a relationship established, so the sooner done, the more lives saved.” Hillson said. “You guys wanna go tonight?”

They all traded looks. “Why not? Be sure not to wear uniforms, for god’s sake!”

They all shared a grim laugh before dispersing. The day wasn’t over with yet.

Ten thirty that evening found the three of them parked in front of Peter’s house. Hillson had them stop by McDonald’s and pick up a bag of burgers to take with them. At the other’s sideways looks, he grimaced. “MJ said that he needed to eat more and was too thin. I thought food might work to help ease us into a conversation.”

It was a cool evening and they stayed in the warm car while they waited. At 10:45, they all finally spotted a young man walking quickly down the sidewalk towards the Parker residence.

“Think that’s him?”

“Gotta be. How many other young guys are out here at this time of night?”

Their target chose that moment to stop and turned to look directly at them.

“Did he make us already?”

“Appears so.” Captain Williams said as he climbed out of the car. The other two did the same and all three of them walked over to Peter who had moved up in front of his house, watching them warily.

“Mr. Parker?”

“That’s me.” The young man said, making no move to come closer.

“My name is Tom Williams. With me are Adam Cooper and Sam Hillson. We’re here because of a robot attack today.”

Peter had stiffened up as he watched them, but didn’t say anything.

“The robots were the flying/hovering type with big bug eyes and they came in a damn cloud there were so many of them. They attacked the picnic we were having.”

All of them had noticed Peter’s flash of recognition at their description. Hillson cleared his throat and held out his bag of McDonald’s. “This is for you. You saved my ass today and I figured the least I could do was buy you some dinner.”

Peter was so wary it was a bit scary to be around him. He finally reached up and took the bag from him.

“So, is MJ okay then?” Peter asked them and almost as one, the cops smiled.

“She is, but she was really upset that she said anything. She was in the middle of the attack though and afraid for her life. We called for backup but the Avengers were tied up and not available. Without your database, those things would have rampaged for hours.” Hillson told him.

Peter shrugged and tucked the bag of food under his arm, pulling out his keys. “You got lucky. Most of them require specialized equipment to drop them.” He said as he turned and headed for his house.

“Peter?” Captain Williams called out and Peter stopped, looking back. “That’s why we’re here. We’d like access to your database and your help if possible. We’re losing the war against these supervillains, Peter. We’d like your help to learn how to take them out without having to call for the Avengers. People die when we wait.”

Peter actually looked startled before he sighed and shrugged. “Do you want access on your phone? Or someplace else?” He asked quietly.

The three of them all smiled. “Peter? We want access on our phones and also on the precinct network. Can you do that?” Captain Williams asked him and they all saw Peter shudder. Hillson raised his hand.

“Easy there! We can make arrangements for access for you on the weekend, son. I think we should be able to clear out the area for you while you work. Will it take long?”

“No. A couple of minutes is all.”

“What’s your next day off, son?” Adam Cooper asked.

“Sunday.”

“Well, if it’s okay with you, then I’ll come by and pick you up and take you over to the precinct. What time is good for you?” Captain Williams asked.

Peter yawned. “7am, please. I want to get it over with.”

“I’ll be here then.” Williams told him and Peter walked back forward, holding out his hand.

“Give me your phone and I’ll enable access right now.”

Williams dug his phone out and handed it over quickly, not able to stop smiling. Cooper and Hillson had theirs out and waiting when Peter finished. It literally only took him a couple of minutes to do all three phones. He handed back the last phone and looked at them a bit oddly before nodding and heading for his door. He vanished inside without another word, but the three of them were quite pleased.

“That turned out a lot better than I expected.” Cooper said.

“It did.” Hillson echoed. “But good Lord… Did you see how thin he was? He’s a lot, lot thinner than back before he quit showing up as Spider-Man.”

“I know.” Captain Williams said grimly. “The only person I know that might know about the care and feeding of a superhuman is Tony Stark. I have no idea how deeply in the pocket of SHIELD he is, either or how safe it would be to contact him about it.”

“Well, maybe we can start bringing him over dinner some nights or something. I know my wife would be willing to cook extra for him.”

Hillson nodded. “I can pick him up some dinner a few times a week too.”

“Well alright then.” Captain Williams said. “Tomorrow, let’s work out a plan to make sure that the kid is getting at least one meal a day from us. I’ll pick him up Sunday morning and take him to the station. For a first meeting, it could be worse.”

 

Williams was there bright and early Sunday morning. He had stopped and bought a big bag of biscuits for Peter this morning. He’d no sooner pulled up to the curb when Peter was coming out of the house. He watched him lock up behind him and walk rapidly to the car.

As he slid into the car, Williams smiled at him. “Morning, Peter.”

“Good morning.”

Williams pulled out into traffic and carefully studied Peter as he drove. Their initial observations were correct. Peter was terribly thin and he simply looked… tired. It was worrying. Not a single one of them had any idea how much food a superhuman should be eating. It was frustrating. They were all worried that if he didn’t start putting on weight, they might have to start asking around about Stark, very, very carefully.

He parked at the station and got out, gesturing to Peter. “Come on. They should have the way cleared out for us.” Peter followed along obediently, only his years of practice observing people letting him notice just how tense Peter was and it got worse as they neared the building. He pushed the door open and smiled at Sally who was manning the desk. She had on her heavy coat and it covered up her uniform quite well. She greeted them and waved them on through.

“I gave my phone to Herbert, Captain!”

“Thanks, dear.”

Peter was almost crowding him as they walked their way through the building. The few people that weren’t in their offices, all had their coats on and smiled and waved as they went by. Williams could hear Peter’s breathing picking up pace as they walked and he was damn grateful when the door to the server room came into view.

“Here we are, Peter.” He pushed the door open and waved him inside. A gray haired man was sitting behind a computer terminal and he stood up and smiled as they came in.

“It’s good to meet you, Mr. Parker.”

Williams tugged Peter forward gently. “Peter, this is Michael. He maintains our servers here in the precinct and is going to make sure that everything continues to stay running while you give us access, okay?”

Peter nodded jerkily and Michael looked worried but moved aside and pointed towards the terminal.

“It’s free, Peter.”

Williams watched as Peter clenched and unclenched his hands before slowing his breathing and walking forward. He couldn’t help but grimace at the sight of a man capable of throwing a car with his bare hands being terrified by a group of cops. It never, never should have happened this way.

Peter settled at the terminal and Michael inched around so he could watch as his fingers flew across the keypad. Michael’s eyebrows were getting higher and higher as he watched Peter do his thing. Ten minutes later, he was done. 

“Do you want an icon on the screen for the database? Or do you want an icon on all the screens for the database. Either way, it’s listed in the program grouping now, so you can always grab it that way if you need to.” Peter asked and Williams looked lost. Michael smiled. 

“It would be good to have an icon for easy access, as I can tell you that most of the folks here can just barely use their technology.”

“Alright then.” Peter said quietly and went back to work. It took him almost twenty minutes before he finished that time and stood up.

“Whoa there, partner! We’re not done yet. I’ve got a barrelful of phones that need access also. We’re all going to use our mobile phones for access out in the field.”

Peter looked surprised. “Just how many phones are we talking about?”

“Around 300.”

“Three… hundred?’ Peter said weakly.

“That’s right.” Williams said. “Take a seat over here at the table and I’ll get you a drink to go with those biscuits I bought.” Williams vanished back out the door and called for the phones. Two of his officers walked up pushing carts that had several cardboard boxes filled with phones on them.

“How’s he doing, Captain?”

“Decent, but only because he’s not seeing everyone right now.”

“It sucks that he has trouble around us now because of the actions of some dirty bastards.”

“It does, but until we can get him to work around us a bit, he’s not going to start trusting us again.”

“You’re right. We’ve already rounded up our tech guys. We’ll be ready whenever you guys are.”

“Good. He still doesn’t know that I want to go to his ‘tech pile’ either. I’ve got to talk him into making us some of that ‘specialized equipment’ that he mentioned. We are GOING to be able to kick robot ass, damn it!”

“Hell yeah, sir!”

Williams drug the carts back into the room and set three cans of soda down next to Peter. He waved at the carts. “As you can see, everyone needs access as none of us know who’ll be nearby when the next attack comes.” He set the first box of phones next to Peter who simply looked tired and picked up the first one.

“Uh-uh, Peter. Eat something first. You can eat and work at the same time. You did my phone one handed, so I know you can.” Williams told him. Peter looked at him oddly, but shifted the phone to his right hand and started typing with his thumb as he picked up a biscuit.

It was well after lunch before Peter finished the last phone. Williams was feeling pretty bad over taking up most of Peter’s free day already. He’d made arrangements to have lunch brought over and had them order 4 meals for Peter alone. He’d watched the kid eat 8 biscuits for breakfast and not even slow down, so he had an idea that Peter needed a LOT of food. Far more than he’d originally thought.

As soon as Peter finished lunch (and he’d eaten every bite of all four lunches!), Williams stood up. “Come on, Peter. I’m driving. Just tell me where your tech pile is.”

Silence fell and he turned around to see Peter staring at him wide-eyed. “What?”

“You heard me, son. I’m driving. I want to see this pile of technology firsthand and see if I can talk you into making us some of that ‘specialized equipment’ you mentioned.”

“Umm… I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ve set it up in one of Doc Oc’s old underground bases. I am technically trespassing when I’m there.” Peter said drily.

“Really? In that case, once I see how big it is, I’ll see if we can get it moved closer to you then.” Williams said and Peter’s eyebrows shot up.

“Come on, Peter.”

 

It was late Sunday evening by the time they’d all been through Peter’s pile of tech. He’d seem confused by them all wanting to go, but he’d tolerated it and once inside, everyone had fallen silent. The only warning they’d gotten was to not go into the small room, as that’s where the Chitauri generator was running to provide power.

Peter had made it to his workshop and set back to work tearing down a rather strange robot with too many limbs. Hillson walked up to him, shaking his head.

“Captain, this guy’s a damn genius.”

“I know.” Captain Williams said. “Our tech guys were lost in minutes.” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to talk to him and see if I can get him to help us design these countermeasures. We’ve got to be able to take care of ourselves.”

Williams made his way back to the workshop. “Hey, Peter?”

“Peter?”

“Peter!” He said a bit more firmly and the poor guy jumped.

“What is it?”

“I need your help, Peter. What’s it going to take for you to help us get these countermeasures built? None of us know how to do it, but we’re more than willing to go out and be the front line. If I get this moved closer to us, can I count on your help?”

Peter set his pen down and studied him for a moment before slowly nodding. “I don’t have much free time, Captain Williams. It will probably be one day a week, my off day. That’s all I’ve been able to come over here now.”

“Really?” Williams said, smiling. “That’s fine with us. Just so long as we can access the database and get some idea of what to use for now.”

Peter stood up and walked over to a shelf. “Here are the prototypes of a lot of the weapons listed in the database. They really need to be made small enough to be practical, but I built most of them in a big hurry. You’re welcome to take them for now and I’ll see about designing something a bit more useful in the field.”

Williams stuck his head out the door and yelled at the guys. They came running in and he explained Peter’s offer and then had to watch as Peter explained each of them to his officers. He wound up tagging each of them with its name and function, so they wouldn’t forget. It was the happiest he’d seen his guys in years. A couple of them went out to the cars to get some boxes and bags to carry them back in, and Peter turned back to him.

“Captain Williams?”

“What is it, Peter?”

“Could you tell me, what gun fires the slowest out of any type? I’m talking about bullet speed and what’s the trade off for speed versus distance. MJ told me that you all had no trouble shooting them out of the sky, so if I can design the tools for you in something capable of being shot out of a gun, it should work even better for all of you. It’s a skill you already have.”

“Hillson! Cooper! Get in here!” He yelled back at them. It wound up involving the entire group as they discussed speed/range/impact damage of the different guns before they all decided that one of their high end air rifles would be best.

“Does anyone own one? If so, can I get a couple of the bullets it uses? And perhaps a couple of bullets that have been fired? I need to know size, speed and damage so that I can try to build something accordingly.”

“I’ll make sure you get them tomorrow, Peter. No problem.”

“Good.”

“Now, I think it’s time to find all of us something to eat and we’ll get you home. You’ve got school in the morning.”

Peter grimaced but was quiet and carefully tucked away his notebook and pen. Williams felt terrible once more as they’d basically taken his entire day from him. It sucked. He turned and found the rest of his men looking just as bad as they realized that Peter’s one day off was gone and he hadn’t gotten to do anything.

They stopped their caravan of cars and bought him a mountain of Italian food to take home and several of the guys went into the local grocer, coming back with bags of groceries. Peter didn’t know it yet, but the precinct had already set up a fund to help buy extra food for him. They wanted his help and watching Spider-Man slowly starve to death wasn’t something they wanted to see.

It took some fast talking once he got Peter home to get him to let them inside to put up the groceries. He was happy to find that the place wasn’t empty, but he’d seen firsthand how much Peter needed to eat and it was obviously not nearly enough. He wasn’t nearly so happy to find that it was cold in there. He’d managed to ask Peter and found out that he kept the thermostat set at 50 degrees to save money. Peter had sighed at the Captain’s alarmed look.

“I’m only here to sleep. It costs money to heat and I’m saving up to be able to pay the taxes.”

He hadn’t liked it one bit, but he’d not said anything to Peter. He’d managed to round the guys up and get them out of his house, with a stern admonishment to get some damn sleep!

Everyone had gathered up next to the cars, shaking their heads as they talked. It bothered all of them. Not only was Peter still young and alone, but he was also Spider-Man. All of them had either met him back when he still did the superhero thing or they knew someone he’d saved. It just wasn’t right to see him so thin.

“Hell Captain, he needs better clothes. He needs a better paying job! He needs enough money to be able to keep his house warm and maybe buy a thing or two. The guy’s a damned genius and doesn’t even own a computer. He’s got a phone and the old tower he’s using for the database. That’s it!”

“No TV either. The set in the living room is ancient and covered with dust.”

“He’s never home now though. He needs some damn time off. He’s been pulling 80-90 hour weeks since he was 16 for god’s sake. He’s a kid! He shouldn’t be going through this.”

Williams looked at his officers and nodded his agreement. “We can’t change everything for him right away, but we’ll do what we can. First thing, we’ve got to keep him in food. I never thought about it before meeting Peter, but it makes sense that a superhuman would need a tremendous amount of calories to be able to do what they do. Even at rest, his body must be burning through food like nobody’s business. We’ve got to make sure that he not only has food, but is actually eating it. That’s going to be hard.”

Hillson raised his hand. “I’m always into work early, sir. I can drop by here in the mornings before work and make sure to bring him something or make sure that he actually ate enough before school.”

Cooper chimed in. “Stacy goes to school with him. I’ll talk to my wife. Maybe I can get Stacy to carry lunch to Peter every day. MJ is her friend and she knows him. If we ask her to, I’m sure she’d make sure he was eating.”

“Dinner’s hard. He’s gone from school by 2:30 and at work by 4. Almost all of that is his transit time. Maybe we can work out having someone meet him either here or at his job to give him something to eat.”

“All we can do is try. I’ll talk to my cousin. He owns that empty warehouse on 4th street. He might be willing to let us use it for free if we tell him we’re working on anti-robot weapons. He’s been bitchin’ about his insurance going through the roof because of all the attacks anyway.”

“Good.” Williams said. “These are the kinds of ideas we need. I’m going to see if I can get authorization to use the old training building behind the station. It might also be suitable for setting up the tech base and it would give Peter the chance to see a lot more cops in uniforms without anything bad happening to him.”

“That’s a great idea, Captain!” “Awesome!” “Now, if we can only prove these weapons work, maybe we can get Peter hired by the department to build them for us. A better job would solve a lot of his problems.”

Williams nodded. “That’s what I’m thinking as well. So folks, tomorrow we’re working out a plan, as I want every single use of these weapons documented. Peter’s going to want the information and we’ll need it to build our case on just how valuable he is to us.”

“Hell, yeah!” “Great idea, sir!” “We need him!”

“Let’s go, people!”

They scattered to their cars to go home. It was going to be a busy day.

 

Eight months later, the precinct was a greatly changed place. For the first time ever, the cops were handling the robot calls all on their own. Williams was positive that Peter was a genius as he’d been there when he’d simply sat down and drawn out his plan for small, bullet sized weapons and then built the prototypes, all in one afternoon. It had taken him two more Sundays to harden them enough that they could be fired and still do the job, but he’d done it.

They’d been testing them in the field for months now with great success. Any robots that they came across that weren’t in the database were still a problem. They now tried a rather scattered approach to dropping them, by firing one of each type of their anti-robot weapons and hoping for the best. So far, it had worked and they’d made sure to bring one of each of the unknowns back to Peter.

All of the tech guys were helping to build the bullet sized weapons now in their free time. Peter simply had no time to do it. They already had 6 robots sitting and waiting for him to go through them and add them to the database. His one day a week in the tech pile just wasn’t enough and it was DAMN frustrating.

What was also frustrating was that even with all their efforts to feed him more, Peter was still too thin. Williams was positive that there was something there that they were missing and he was pretty sure that he was going to have to contact Stark to find out. Less than two months now before Peter graduated and the whole precinct was helping him gather the data to make the report to the Chief of Police. They wanted to hire him. Peter needed a full time job that paid a living wage and they needed his brain helping to solve problems.

The door to his office flew open and Koulson poked his head in. “Sir! We just received a report of another robot invasion on the south end near 12th street. They’re saying the Avengers are battling them but not having much luck. We’ve got three patrols near there and they all want to have a go at the robots. Will you give the okay?”

Williams frowned. “Are the robots in the database?”

“They are, sir. Search ‘silver 4 arms flying robot’ and click the first link.”

Williams did so and pulled up the page. “High frequency sound, huh?”

“Yes, sir. We had a round of these two weeks ago and took them down with no trouble.”

“Good. Tell the men to do it. Let me know when it’s clear.”

“Very good, sir!”

Williams could feel the excitement in the air as everyone wanted to be able to handle a problem that was giving the Avengers trouble. He clicked on the description tab and found that this particular robot was very heavily shielded around the CPU and powerplant, which made them incredibly difficult to take down by normal means. He smiled. This should be interesting.

It was less than 20 minutes later when Koulson came back in smiling. “All clear, sir! Worked like a charm. They took down a damned squadron of them. There are 14 more that they’re going to haul back. We could use more spare parts and the guys are willing to work tearing them down.”

“Great news, Koulson!”

“Oh, and sir? The Avengers were most appreciative.”

“I’ll bet.” Williams said with a grin. “Did Stark pester them?”

“He did, sir! They had quite the time getting away from him.”

Williams laughed. “It’s nice to be able to handle these things on our own again.”

Koulson nodded and shut the door behind him. Williams turned back to his report. He didn’t have much left on it and then he could present it to the Chief of Police. They needed Peter working here full time. He made it three more pages before someone knocked again. Looking up, he found it was Koulson and he looked… grim. He opened the door and stuck his head in.

“Sir! We just got a call in. The Chief of Police is almost here. ETA- 7 minutes.”

Williams looked at the open report before him and cursed. “I don’t have the damn thing finished yet! Any idea what he’s coming here for?”

Koulson shook his head. “Officially, no. Unofficially, the Avengers probably said something about us showing them up today.”

“Shit.”

Koulson nodded. “We’re behind you, sir. No one’s gonna throw the kid to the wolves here. He’s ours.”

Williams finally managed a smile and nodded. “Thank you. Let me see if I can get this closer to being done by the time he gets here.”

“Yes, sir.”

Williams resumed his frantic typing, not looking up until he heard his door open. He rose to his feet and smiled, holding out his hand. 

“Sir! What brings you to our precinct today?” He saw Koulson grimace and pull the door closed behind the Chief’s back.

Jim Nichols, the current Chief of Police of New York City sighed, shook his hand and threw himself down in the chair in front of his desk.

“How’ve you been, Tom?”

Williams relaxed a bit and sat down. “We’re doing great, sir.”

“That’s what I heard. Iron Man himself stopped by to tell me what a great job you guys did in handling the robots today.” All relaxation vanished and he straightened up. “How in the hell did you do it and how can I get the other departments up to speed on it? We’re fuckin’ dying out there, Tom. Literally.”

Captain Williams grimaced and nodded. “I know, sir. It’s a long story and I was in fact composing a report to submit to you about the whole thing. There’s a person we need to hire, but I think you need the rest of the story, first.”

Williams cleared his throat. “One thing you have to understand first, sir. The kid we found that’s been helping us… Well, he’s ours. Don’t even think about screwing with him, sir. The whole damn department’s got his back.”

Jim’s eyebrows rose and he slowly nodded. “We’re not talking anything illegal here, are we?”

“Hell, no! We’re cops. He’s just a kid though. Still two months away from 18.”

“O-kay…”

Captain Williams started at the very beginning – the annual Police picnic that had been invaded. It took him most of the afternoon to cover the whole story and everything they’d been doing to try and help Peter. It was well after lunch when he finally got the Chief to follow him into Peter’s database.

He picked up Hillson and Cooper and they grabbed some of the tech guys to go with them and answer questions. The look on the Chief’s face when he walked into the building though… It was priceless. It took them over two hours to get the Chief all the way through the database. He’d even stopped in Peter’s work area and flipped through some of the notebooks the kid had left there.

He finally set them back down. “That stuff’s supposed to make sense?”

Williams laughed. “I know. He’s a damn genius.”

“He is, sir.” Hillson said. “We’ve been using his database for just over 8 months now and had great success.”

Williams grabbed one of the tablet computers left there and showed it to the Chief. “The EDB icon. Just click it.”

Chief Nichols shrugged and did it. The basic search page opened up. “What now?”

“Well, if you want to see the ones we took down today for the Avengers, type in ‘silver 4 arms flying robot’ and click the first link.”

The Chief did and promptly started reading. “Okay, now I know the background on the things. How do you find out how to take them down?”

Williams leaned over and showed him the tab. “Click here, sir. ‘How to take down or destroy’.”

They all watched in silence as the Chief went through the explanation before he started smiling. “High frequency sound? And you guys knew how?”

“Here, sir. The weapons are color coded so we don’t grab the wrong one.” He pointed. “That’s how we knew which one to use.”

Hillson was already back and holding out one of the special anti-robot bullets. “They’re designed to be fired using a high-end air rifle. We selected the type of gun we wanted to use and Peter designed these modified bullets.”

“They work great, Chief!”

“They do, sir. It’s all volunteer right now. Our guys are building the bullets here out of scrap robots.”

“How do you use this database in the field though?”

“Sir, we got Peter to enable access on all our phones, just like MJ had. Since we never know who’s going to be around when they show up, everyone always has their phone and can look it up, calling in the information.”  
“Peter designed the database, collected most all of these robots, tore them down and figured out how to shut them down efficiently, and gave you guys the tools and information you need to become effective against the damn things.”

They all nodded. “Even now, we can’t do it without him sir. We still run across a few that aren’t in the database. A couple of times we’ve gotten lucky and tried one of each and been able to drop them, but we’ve had four…” He turned the others. “It was four wasn’t it?”

They nodded and he continued. “Four times now we couldn’t kill’em and the kid came out and took them down for us. Smooth. I’d almost forgotten just how efficient Spider-Man was until I saw him fighting again.”

“So when does Peter get here? I want to meet him.”

“He’s only off one day a week, sir. That’s usually Sunday. He’s in school all day and works until 10:30 every night and all day Saturday. That’s why we want to hire him. He can’t keep up with us dragging in new robots.”

“That’s what the pile over there is, Chief. All of those need to be added to the database.”

The Chief sighed and ran a hand through his hair before pulling out his phone. “Let me make some calls.”

He came back 15 minutes later. “I’m going to need you guys to stay. The Mayor’s on the way here and I need you guys to go through everything one more time.”

They all traded looks. “Yes, sir.”

“It’s just, I usually drop by something extra for Peter to eat in the evenings, sir. I’m going to need to go by and get his food to him or arrange for someone to do it for me.” Williams said. “He should be on his way in to work now.”

“Go ahead and get someone to do it for you then, Captain.”

Williams managed to grab Koulson before he left and the guy was more than happy to stop and see Peter. Williams handed him over the money for the food, but Koulson wouldn’t take it.

“Uh-uh, sir. I donate to the food fund for him already, but I’ve never gotten a chance to buy him dinner myself. I’ll do it. He’s saved my ass more than once already with his database.”

Williams made it back to the database building only just before the Mayor and his entourage did. By the time they finished the explanations once more, it was late evening.

“This… This is exactly what we need, Chief! No wonder you were so excited. We can’t keep relying on the Avengers. There’re only three of them and your guys are taking down the robots clean now. I can’t ask for more and neither can New York.” He shook everyone’s hands. “Chief, I want a meeting with you and Captain Williams tomorrow. We’ll need to schedule a time. I want to get some estimates on what it will cost to build those anti-robot weapons on a much larger scale and pull in prices to outfit all of the NYPD with their own robot hunting gear. Call me in the morning and we’ll set up a time to talk.”

“Oh, and Chief? You need to hire this kid. No way can we let our own superhuman slip through our fingers. Spider-Man belongs to New York.”

Williams started smiling as he looked over to his Chief hopefully.

“Draw up the paperwork for his hire, Captain and bring it with the report tomorrow. I’m still going to want to meet him.”

“Oh, me too!” The Mayor chimed in. “Never in a million years would I have thought Spider-Man was a kid, but damn! I know now. I really want to meet him. It’s too bad he can’t come tomorrow.”

Williams shrugged. “He’s in school unfortunately and at work in the evenings. He won’t be home until after 10:30 tonight.”

The Mayor looked over at the trim middle aged man standing behind him. “You want to go see him? They said he’s underweight.”

Everyone looked confused for a moment, but the Mayor suddenly jerked his head as he remembered.

“I can’t believe it! I forgot to introduce you to everyone. This is Doctor Sherman Weston, an ER doctor from New York General hospital. Arguably one of the finest ER surgeons on the East Coast and a fan of Spider-Man.”

Sherman smiled politely at all of them. “What can you tell me about his physical condition? All the Mayor knew was that you guys said he’s too thin and not gaining weight.”

Williams stared at him in shock for a moment. “You… You want to help us?”

Sherman nodded. “Of course.”

“What are you going to charge? The kid doesn’t have insurance until we can get him hired and he sure as hell doesn’t have any money.”

Sherman smiled. “This is free. I want to see if I can figure out why he’s not gaining weight, which is why I need whatever you guys can tell me about him.”

“Thank god.” The cops around them all murmured and everyone started pulling out pocket notebooks. At Sherman’s surprise, Williams shrugged.

“The poor guy has 300+ NYPD on him to eat more. We all track what he’s eaten, how much, what the variance is day to day, whether or not he gains ANYTHING, you name it. No luck yet.”

They wound up spending another hour discussing everything they knew about Peter’s health and eating habits and his struggles with PTSD. Sherman had pulled out a tablet computer and had been taking notes the entire time. When everyone had finally exhausted their questions, Williams finally stood back up.

“Well, Peter will be home soon. We need to stop by Cooper’s and pick up dinner for the kid. His wife was making it for him tonight. Were you coming tonight, Doctor?”

Sherman stood up, looking excited. “Can I? I brought my medical bag with me.”

“Sure. Just remember. The kid doesn’t like anyone in his personal space, but if you go slow and explain carefully what you need to do, he’ll almost always allow it.”

Sherman nodded and all the cops gathered to leave. The Mayor stopped them though.

“Hey Sherman, if you’re going to meet him tonight, I’ll go also. I want to meet him and I’m also your ride over here. Hopefully we don’t stress him out.”

Ten thirty that evening found the Chief of Police and his group, the Mayor and his, Doctor Weston and Captain Williams, along with Hillson and Cooper all waiting in Peter’s yard. When the familiar form of their teenaged superhuman finally made his way into the yard, Williams pushed his way to the front of the group and waved at Peter.

Peter made no move to come closer, watching all of them, wary and silent. Williams, Hillson and Cooper all went to him and spent a few minutes trying to explain everything that had happened today. 

“But why is everyone here? In my yard?” They all heard Peter ask.

“Because they all want to meet you.”

Peter groaned and put a hand over his eyes. “Don’t tell me that you told all of them also? I told you, I don’t do that anymore.”

Williams shrugged. “They need to know.”

“We want to help you Peter, and we don’t know what to do. The Chief and Mayor can hopefully get you a better job worked out and Doctor Weston can maybe tell us what we’ve got to do to get you back to a healthy weight.”

“We’ll be here the whole time, Peter. We won’t leave you alone with any of them.” Williams told him seriously. “You’re one of us, kid. Like it or not.”

Peter sighed and shook his head, pulling out his keys. “Does everyone come inside or am I just shaking hands so they can go?”

Williams looked over his shoulder and the Chief was pointing towards the house. “Inside, apparently.”

It was a bit chaotic for a minute as everyone made their way inside. Peter dropped his backpack off on the kitchen table and Cooper set the food on the counter. He’d need to get it warmed up, but introductions first.

Everyone had lined up and Williams urged Peter over to the Chief of Police and his group. All he could do was smile as they each shook his hand and looked a little flushed and wide-eyed. Up close, the kid was kinda overwhelming, even though he wasn’t in that great of shape right now.

He urged them towards the Mayor’s group and he could tell right away that something was wrong. Peter was radiating tension more with every step towards them they took. He shook the Mayor’s hand and accepted his thanks, moving one step down before stopping and looking down at the hand stretched out towards him.

Nothing happened and Williams looked over. “Peter…?”

The kid had locked gazes with the Mayor’s aide who was starting to look a little pale around the edges.

“Wh-what is it?”

Peter blinked and tilted his head. “Hydra, huh? I thought you guys were destroyed back in WWII.”

The aide blanched, visibly shaking before he pulled himself together and straightened. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Every cop instinct he had just kicked in at the blatant lie and the Mayor was stepping away from his aide in shock.

Peter shrugged. “You even have the tattoo on your arm. When did Hydra return anyway?”

“Wh-what the fuck? Are you fuckin’ telepathic?” The aide suddenly lunged forward. “Die, freak!”

Peter stepped out of his way and the man spun around.

“Really? You’re in a room filled with Police officers. Are you sure you want to do this?”

The aide threw his jacket to the floor and pulled out a set of blue tinted knives, lunging at Peter. For a moment, Williams had to struggle to make out what was happening before Peter slipped in his guard and knocked both knives to the ground, flipping the man over his head and kneeling on the center of his back, holding his hands.

“Captain Williams. Do you have something with you to subdue this guy? He seems a bit unbalanced.” Peter said calmly. Hillson was pulling out his cuffs and Cooper was on the radio for a squad car. The Mayor looked like he was going to pass out.

Only after they had the man safely cuffed and in the car, did Williams turn to Peter.

“Alright, kid. How the hell did you know the guy was Hydra?”

Peter sighed again. “Captain Williams, I’ve always had a 360 degree precognitive radar. It seems though as I’ve gotten older that it’s quite a bit stronger. Anymore, I pick up… ugh, ‘visions’ is such an inaccurate term, but regardless, that fellow set it off and when I looked at him, all I saw was Hydra. He’s going to do his best to be a martyr for Hydra. He also is going to attempt to destroy his office computer, so you might want to change it out with another and see what’s on his.”

Williams grinned. “That’s amazing, Peter! You’re like a damn bloodhound.”

He got an eye roll for his trouble. Williams just herded him back inside. This time, he managed to introduce him to Doctor Weston.

The man was grinning hugely and shook Peter’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. I’m Sherman Weston. I’m an ER surgeon at New York General.”

“Pleased to meet you.” Peter said before yawning. “Are we done now, because I really need some sleep.”

“Nope. The good doctor is here to help. He’s going to examine you and help us figure out just what you should be eating or doing. We need to get your weight up, Peter.”

Peter gave the doctor a sideways look. “I’m quite sure that I can’t afford an ER surgeon that makes home visits. Maybe after I win the lottery.”

“Be nice. Hillson and Cooper are heating your dinner back up and you and I are going up to your room. You’re going to let the good doctor check you over, Peter. We want you healthy.”

Williams drug Peter upstairs with him and Sherman looked up after them nervously. Hillson stepped out of the kitchen and patted his shoulder.

“Remember what we said? The kid’s hard to get close to. Let him know in detail, move slowly and be assured and he’ll let it happen, okay?”

Sherman nodded. “I’m surprised it got to me as I AM an ER doctor.”

Hillson nodded. “I know. It’s something about watching Peter exhibit even a tiny portion of his strength. It kinda hits you right here.” Hillson thumped his chest. “He’s one of the best though, Doc. He’s not going to hurt anyone.”

Sherman suddenly smiled and nodded, picking up his bag and running up the stairs. 

They all came back down half an hour later and Hillson sat him at the table while Cooper pulled his food out of the stove where it’d been heating up. Peter was frowning at both of them.

“Please don’t tell me that you’re planning on hand feeding me tonight also.” He said dryly and the cops nodded.

“Why? You feelin’ poorly? Cooper! Bring me over the big spoon!”

Peter finally smiled and started eating. The Mayor and the Chief were both deep in discussion at the other end of the table while Peter was soon surrounded by his cops. Dr. Weston appeared after another 15 minutes, still typing on his StarkPad. He dropped into the chair next to Williams. Peter was almost done eating by the time he’d finished typing.

“Okay guys, I need some help. I’m going to need to get Peter to the hospital pretty soon. There are a lot of tests that need to be run.” Sherman told them seriously. 

“Why? What’s wrong with our kid?” Williams said worriedly.

“Well, he’s starving for one. Mainly though I need to run tests to determine how to sedate him and other issues. If he ever needs surgery, I don’t want to be trying to figure this out then. I need it in his file.”

All of them started nodding in agreement. “That’s a good idea, Doc. We just got to work out when we can get the kid over there.”

“I also think that you need to start wearing something like a medical alert bracelet or chain, Peter. If you’re ever injured, the EMTs will need to know to contact me before treatment. I’ll have one made up.”

Peter grimaced but nodded slowly and Williams patted his arm in approval.

“Peter?” The Mayor called out and they all looked over at him. “I’m going to be changing your schedule pretty quick. We’ll be contacting your school tomorrow to arrange for you to take your tests early. The Chief is going to be pushing through the paperwork and you should be able to start full time in the database as a member of the NYPD by Monday of next week.”

Peter’s eyebrows shot up in surprise and Hillson cut him off before he said anything. “Uh-uh. None of that nonsense about leaving New York, kid. We need you here and now we can finally get you a job with a living wage. There’s no reason that you can’t stay and help us now.”

Williams and Cooper both nodded. “Besides Peter, you’re still going to need our help getting enough food for you. Otherwise your entire paycheck will be going to feed yourself.”

“I think I may be able to help with that also.” Sherman told them. “I’ve got to get to the hospital in the morning and start making plans. Mayor? Will I be able to get Peter one day next week for tests?”

The Mayor looked over at the Chief who then looked at Williams. “I can have him there any day you need him. Just let me know and we’ll make plans.”

Williams stood up then. “C’mon, Peter. We’ve kept you up too long already. Go get some sleep. We’ll lock up on our way out.”

He returned in a couple of minutes, helping Hillson and Cooper clean up. All of them were absently listening in to the huge conversation at the kitchen table behind them as everyone worked out the details of the plan to help Peter.

 

Monday morning Hillson found himself driving Peter over to New York General hospital. Doctor Weston had asked that they have him there as soon as they could that morning. He looked over at Peter, who couldn’t seem to stop yawning and grinned.

“Good to know I’m not the only one who has trouble waking up in the morning.”

Peter nodded sleepily.

“No breakfast this morning either. They said that the sedation may make you nauseous and they’ll feed you after it’s done.”

Peter nodded again and Hillson grinned.

“Are you still asleep, Peter?”

He got another nod in answer and laughed. “Alright. I’ll shut up and let you doze until we get there.”

Hillson got them there and herded a still mostly asleep Peter into the ER entrance. He smiled at the nurse.

“We’re here to see Doctor Weston. He’s expecting us.”

Her eyes lit up and she smiled back before darting her gaze over to Peter and blushing. Hillson grinned, because the kid was oblivious.

“I’ll let him know you’re here, Officer.”

She got on the phone and spent a couple of minutes in conversation before nodding and hanging up the phone.

“This way.”

They were ushered into a room back in ER and Hillson got to watch as Peter went from mostly asleep to completely alert in seconds. His attention was being pulled from one person to the next without relaxing.

“What is it?”

Peter turned his gaze back to him. “What?”

“You’re on high alert, kid. What is it?”

Peter tipped his head in acknowledgment. “This place is filled with people that are criminals or druggies. The precognition thing is going crazy and it’s pretty distracting.”

Hillson pulled out his notebook and wrote down that tidbit. The Doc would need to know that one. They didn’t end up waiting long before an entire crowd of people came in, surrounding them. Doctor Weston pushed his way to the front of the crowd, noticing Peter’s heightened alertness immediately.

“What’s wrong?”

Hillson explained it to him and Sherman grimaced. “Well, there’s something I didn’t think of. We’re going to have to figure out a better way to admit you then, Peter. For now, let me make introductions.”

They were introduced to the hospital Director Doctor Mike Dunnson, a second doctor – Bill Richards, two different anesthesiologists, Physical Therapists and a handful of different nurses. All of whom looked over the top to be meeting Peter.

“Now, thanks to the Director we have a suite of rooms that are set up just to accommodate Peter. We’re calling it the Spider-Man suite, but for right now we’ll move up there. Lot less people for you to deal with Peter.”

The whole crowd of people went with them through the hospital. He could almost see Peter starting to relax the farther away from ER they got and looked over to see that Sherman was watching him too. They traded looks and Sherman pulled out his Pad, typing rapidly. 

The next few hours went by in a whirlwind of tests. All Hillson could do was watch and endlessly remind people to approach Peter slowly and explain what they were going to do before they did it. Sherman nodded. 

“Everyone knows. It’s just difficult as you get into the habit of doing things at a certain speed.”

Hillson shrugged. “You can either learn to slow down or you’ll be wondering where the hell he went. Peter can move fast enough that you won’t even see him leave.”

Everyone gathered around Sherman nodded. “We’ll learn.”

“How’d the kid do otherwise?”

Doctor Weston smiled. “Great. Bill and I…” He said, pointing to the other doctor. “We remembered to go slowly and he let us do all of the tests we needed done.”

Doctor Richards nodded. “Sedation was the hardest one. Peter’s body metabolizes drugs at a stunning rate.” Behind him, the others made comments about it. “He doesn’t trust us and it was very difficult for him to lay there and let us put him to sleep. You could almost see him struggle with it.”

Everyone nodded and Sherman spoke again. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to do this test a couple more times as Peter gains back some of his weight. The dose needed is going to change as his body gets back to full health.”

Hillson nodded. “Can I get a summary to take back? We’ll need to know when we’ve got to have him here and what we need to be doing to help.”

“Actually…” Mike Dunnson, the Director stepped forward. “This is my part. You see, we all want to be a part of this also. You’re going to need a team of people that can help him, especially if he’s been injured and we all want the chance to work with a superhuman. The hospital is going to cover all of Peter’s medical expenses and will going forward. There are just a couple of things we want.”

Sherman nodded. “We need information actually. One – we want to be the designated hospital for him for treatment. The ones you guys will call any time he’s hurt. Period. It’s going to take some time to learn the differences between a normal human and Peter, but we’re willing to do it.”

Mike nodded. “Secondly, once you guys start putting him in the field again, we want data. We need to know how his body responds under stress and if there’s anything we need to be doing to help. We’ve all read about it, but when the time comes, we want his suit wired. That way, as long as he’s in the suit, we’re getting a non-stop stream of information.”

“In return, we can even promise that he’ll get all of us assigned to his care anytime he’s hurt. We’ve all volunteered.”

The Director nodded. “The room that Peter is in now will be dedicated to his use anytime he’s here. We’ll also work out a better protocol for admittance, as going through ER wasn’t good. I hate to think about what that would be like if he was already injured and in pain.”

Doctor Richards spoke up. “It’s always been SHIELD that handled superhumans. This time… Well, Spider-Man is New York’s own personal hero for god’s sake. We want to take care of him and there’s no reason we can’t do a damn fine job of it. He’s saved thousands of lives when he did the superhero thing, my daughter and my granddaughter being two of them.”

Hillson grinned. “You guys sound just like we did when we found him. The kid’s too damn thin but all we could do was grin like a bunch of idiots and point as we kept saying ‘Look, it’s Spider-Man’.”

They all laughed and nodded in agreement. “Now, as to his weight. It’s definitely a problem. We think he needs approximately 35 pounds to be at a healthy weight. All of our tests show that he’s suffering from the side-effects of starvation. Thanks to the data all of you supplied, combined with the ones we ran today on his metabolism, we’ve changed his diet plan.”

“Yeah, according to our tests, Peter is going to need to be eating anywhere from 25000-27000 calories a day in order to gain weight. Part of the problem also is that his body is trying to mature too, which increases the calories needed.”

Hillson jaw fell open. “We were only managing to get him about half of what he needed every day! Shit! I’ll have to tell everyone that we need to double what we’re feeding him.”

“Whoa! Hang on there!” Sherman held up a hand. “This is Peter’s health we’re talking about here, so we think we should take over his diet plan. We talked it out and we can definitely work out a food delivery system.”

Mike nodded. “Being a teenager, we’re all in agreement that if it isn’t easy, he’s probably not going to eat enough. So we’ve already looked up several businesses that can supply the food we need daily. It will be delivered in the mornings and he’ll need to take lunch and the snacks with him to work. The hospital will be picking up the bill.”

Hillson nodded. “Totally doable. I’ll be picking him up every morning anyway. I’m usually there now to make sure he eats breakfast before he’d go to school. Same thing, but now I’ll make sure that he brings his food with him.”

Sherman nodded. “He’s got to eat. Period. He needs the food to heal and also for energy. He’s unusually quiet and we all think he simply doesn’t have the energy to do much.”

“We think the same thing. It’s just been damn frustrating!”

Doctor Weston grinned. “Not anymore, Sergeant. We’ll get him healthy. New York’s superhuman deserves the best we can give him.”

 

Williams leaned back in his chair and surveyed the precinct out his office window. The anti-robot program had gone city wide three months ago now and he’d never seen his people so proud. They’d been hosting other precincts for months now, touring the database and venturing out into the field with them to learn how it was done. Everyone wanted to meet Spider-Man, but they made sure that Peter wasn’t there for any of the tours. They all were in agreement that only the people that needed to know who he was – would.

They’d even gotten the kid another couple of suits made by a body armor company here in New York. They’d done 3D modeling of Peter and designed the suit to fit him. They’d worked in a body camera, earpiece, and the sensor net that the hospital wanted as well as some light armor. It was a darker, more muted blue and red with the spider on it this time. The most amazing thing was that the company hadn’t charged for any of it. All they’d wanted was the right to say they outfitted Spider-Man, which had been granted. Their kid had built his own web shooter things he used.

Peter hadn’t wanted them at all. It had taken them three days to talk him into accepting them and a couple of weeks before he finally accepted that he might need to help them drop robots every now and then and it was better to remain anonymous to the public at large. He grinned, thinking of the first time they’d gotten Peter to try one on.

Cooper had groaned before muttering about how he needed to hit the gym more, Hillson nodding along with him. The Doctors knew their stuff. Peter was finally putting on his weight and all of it was muscle. Koulson had looked positively flushed before he leaned over to him.

“Captain, I’m a straight man. Always have been. But… Damn. Look at him.”

It had been a fun afternoon watching his people blush and stammer and act like teenagers once more. His attention was brought back to the present though when Koulson flung his door open.

“Sir! Robot attack downtown Manhattan! Six units on the scene and more on the way. They’ve already tried everything but they’re not going down. The Chief has asked that Peter go and assist.”

“We’ll never get there in time! Are any of our people on the ground there?”

“Cooper, sir. He was there, getting the latest group through their field work. Oh, and they’re sending a police chopper to pick him up. ETA – 4 minutes.”

Williams nodded and ran towards the database building. Everyone looked at him in surprise as he rushed in. 

“Peter! Suit up! We’ve got a robot attack, downtown Manhattan. Cooper’s on the ground at the scene, but the robots aren’t going down for any of the weapons we’ve got. You’ve been asked to assist. They’re sending a chopper for you. ETA – 3 minutes.”

Peter nodded and ran for the locker his suit was kept in, while Williams called Cooper to get information. Peter came out pulling his mask over his head and fastening the cable.

“Alright, Peter. Cooper’s on your channel now so you’ll be able to speak with him. He’s going to give you the details on the way over, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

They could all hear the chopper now and as a group, they went outside to see it coming in. 

“The parking lot’s packed today, sir! Where’s he gonna sit it down?”

“Shit.”

“It’s okay. I can get to him if he’ll hover for a moment and open the door.” Peter told him. “He’s not that high.”

Williams looked over before looking up. The damn thing was at least 100 feet in the air. “Koulson, let’em know to hover and open the door. Spider-Man’s coming to them.”

They all watched the chopper stop moving and the door slid open.

“They’re clear, Spider-Man.”

Peter exploded off the ground next to him, bouncing off the roof of the database and onto the chopper. They were all left a bit stunned as the door to the chopper closed and it turned, heading for downtown Manhattan.

“Alright, everyone. Back to work. Koulson, pull up his feed and let’s keep an eye on everything.”

“I’m on it, sir.”

 

Peter sat stiffly in the chopper as it raced towards Manhattan. Thankfully, Cooper was giving him as much detail as he could, which helped take his mind off just how uncomfortable he felt. He had finally gotten familiar with ‘his’ cops, but these folks… He didn’t know them and their wide-eyed awe was pretty strange.

“We’re almost there!” The pilot called back.

“Hey Cooper? How high are they flying anyway? I’m in a chopper.”

“You won’t be able to get close to them, Peter. They’re near the top of the building and they’re hovering in a cloud, shooting at everything that moves.”

“Okay. I guess it’s time for sky-diving then.” Peter leaned over and tapped the pilot on the shoulder. “He’s telling me they’re near the top of the buildings, sir. If you can come in above them, I’ll jump.”

“WHAT?!”

“It’s easiest, I think. No place to land and I’ll still have to work my way up to them. This way, I’ll already be up here.”

“Shit.” The pilot said before nodding and banked the chopper. “We’re going in. Get ready.”

Peter nodded and leaned back. He could hear the guy radioing back in what was going on and tapped his hand on his knee impatiently. 

“There they are!” 

They closed in over them quickly and the pilot hovered in position. “Anytime.” He called out and Peter unbuckled from the seat, the officer next to him grabbed the door handle and pulled it open for him.

“Good luck, Spider-Man!” He called out as Peter leaped out the door and entered free fall. A few months ago, he wouldn’t have done anything similar to this, but he was finally feeling more like his old self. He felt himself start to grin as the wind shrieked around him.

“Time to go to work.” He said softly as he arched and twisted, hitting the first robot feet first and crushed the entire center section. It started spiraling to the ground and he caught it in a web, pinning it to a building as he tuned out the rest of the world. Everything was simply warning and movement for him for the next few seconds as he disrupted their pack. Gaining a few seconds in the chaos, he ripped the back panel off of one and started poking through circuits as its flight grew more erratic.

“That’ll do it. Hey, Cooper?”

“I’m here.”

“I’ll be taking the back plate off of them and sending them your way. Use the EMF bullets on the open area, as soon as they get into range, okay?”

He heard Cooper huff a laugh. “You figured that out in the midst of all that shit going on up there?”

“Yeah. Get busy, cause here comes the first one.”

Peter launched himself away, bouncing between them before getting the angle right and kicking it hard enough to send it to the ground. He heard the crack of the rifles sounding off and saw the robot collapse.

“It worked, Spider-Man! Make it rain, kid! We’re ready!”

After that, it was ridiculously easy for him to simply rip off the back armor and send them down to Cooper. Two minutes later, there were 26 smoking robots on the ground and Peter was dragging down the first one he’d webbed up. He had the back plates in another webbed up bundle on his back as he crawled his way back down the building, loaded with junk.

Cooper met him on the ground as Peter looked around. “Wow, did all of this happen during the fight? I thought I was keeping them pretty busy.”

Cooper shook his head. “Nah. All this happened prior to your arrival, kid. You did a great job.”

Peter sighed with relief as he picked up his robot in a better hold. “Can I get at least a couple of these back at the database? EMF takes them down, but I’m going to have to build a bullet capable of piercing the armor and surviving. It’s pretty unbelievable, but these fellas are covered in titanium armor. Check it out.”

He handed over the webbed package of armor to Cooper who grabbed it and then almost dropped it. “Shit! It’s heavy!”

Peter winced, not that he could see it while he was wearing a mask. “Sorry, sir.”

“’s okay, kid. I just wasn’t expecting it. You hold it like it’s a bag of popcorn. It fooled me.”

There was a huge truck backing up into the site and Cooper pulled him over. Peter followed along and they stopped near the robots. “Pick out which ones you want, Spider-Man and we’ll make arrangements for those to go to the database.”

Peter nodded. “Alright.” He sat down the one he’d been carrying. “I want that one for sure. Let me check the others.”

He made his way through the robots, checking each carefully before pulling out a second one to sit next to his first choice. He looked up to find Cooper gone.

“Cooper?” He tried the comm. “Is something wrong?”

“Just the damn crowd, kid. It’s turning into a mob scene as everyone tries to see you.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh. Did you find your robots?”

“I did, sir.”

“Good. Do us a favor and load the rest of them on the truck, would you? Then set your two on the very top, so we’ll know which ones belong to you.”

“Alright.” Peter said a bit uncertain. He could hear the crowd now that he was paying attention. It was a low, rather threatening roar. He took a deep breath to calm himself. Cooper had told him he did okay, so… He set to work. It only took a minute or so to get all of the robot bodies and any pieces in the truck. He laid his two on the very top of the pile.

“They’re loaded, Cooper.”

“Good. I’m coming, kid. Wait there.”

Peter was rather pathetically grateful for the familiar face of his cop. The man came trotting up, shaking his head. “I think we seriously underestimated your appeal, Spider-Man. We’re calling the chopper back in and you’re going to have to go up and get back on. We need everyone to see you leave in a very visible way so that we can get this road opened back up.”

“Okay.” Peter watched as Cooper talked on his hand held radio for a few minutes before he stopped and pointed. 

“There he is, kid. I need you to get on it as soon as he stops and gets the door open for you, okay?”

Peter nodded, not liking the concerned edge in Cooper’s voice.

“Alright. He’s ready. Go on, kid. I’ll see you this evening.”

“Okay. Good luck.” Peter said before he leaped. Straight up, he cleared 70 feet and stuck to the building, climbing rapidly. As he neared the top, he sprang from building to building, building up momentum before leaping right at the open door of the chopper. He had to stick his hand to the side just to help him kill the momentum of his leap but stepped inside and pulled the door closed.

He turned and was met with the grinning face of the same cop from earlier.

“I can’t believe it’s really you, sir! I mean, they told me and all, but… It wasn’t the same as seeing you do your thing! It was awesome!”

Peter scrunched back in his seat firmly, not sure of what to say. He still had no plans on ‘doing his thing’ anymore, except as necessary.

“We’re to take you back to where we picked you up, sir. Is that okay?”

“Of course.” Peter said. “Thanks for the lift.”

“Anytime, Spider-Man! Anytime!”

 

Captain Williams sagged back in his chair at the end of one of the most exhausting days he’d ever had on the police force. To say that the city had gone wild for Spider-Man would be the understatement of the century.

He’d been locked up in phone calls with the Mayor, the Chief, Peter’s doctor, and every damn body else who wanted to make sure the kid was okay. It was gratifying in a way to see that other people loved him too, but it was also pretty damn scary. Right now, they were leaving two police officers at Peter’s house full time to make sure that no one tracked him back to it and as back up in case the crazies found him.

It was a terrible situation and he didn’t know how they were going to secure Peter’s safety. He raised his head tiredly when he heard a knock on his door.

“Koulson?”

The man nodded. “Yes, sir. The Chief and the Mayor are here to see you, sir.” Koulson looked around quickly. “I think Tony Stark is with them also.”

“What the hell could it be now?” Captain Williams said before rising to his feet. “Where are they at?”

“Conference room 1.”

Williams made his way there, feeling far older than he actually was today. He opened the door and went inside quickly, settling into his usual place at the head of the table.

“Chief. Mayor. Mr. Stark.”

Chief Nichols shook his head and smiled. “You look like you’ve had a hell of a day. I know how you feel. It’s been madness.”

The Mayor nodded also. “We had to put up barricades to keep the crowd back. Everyone wants to see Spider-Man.”

“Did Peter get home okay?”

Williams nodded. “He did. We’re keeping two officers with him at all times because of that.” He said, waving his hand to indicate the crap going on out there. “Last thing we need is some nutjob to follow him home.”

They all nodded. “That’s actually why we’re here. We spent the afternoon beating SHIELD about the head until they finally gave in and admitted that Peter is OUR superhuman. He works for us. Mr. Stark here though has graciously offered Peter a place to live in his Tower, rent-free.”

Chief Nichols chimed in. “I’ve already went through the security and its top notch. Peter would be safe there, or at least, safer than anywhere else.”

“I can have JARVIS fly him over here and pick him up every day also. Not a problem.” Mr. Stark said and Williams narrowed his eyes.

“What do you get out of this, Mr. Stark?”

The billionaire smiled at him. “I’m already getting the city’s contract to build your anti-robot bullets, but this time I’d like access to the database. It’s working quite well for all of you and anything that makes the job easier is something I want to see.”

“So, do you know about Peter’s history then?”

Stark nodded. “I do. The Tower is huge. He can pick any floor he’d like to live on. Sam’s retiring and moving to Florida and Rhodey’s going on another tour of the military bases and won’t be back for 13 months. Right now, it’s just me.”

Williams sighed. “Peter’s not going to want to move.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Right now, Hillson, Cooper or I are there for every meal he eats to make sure he eats everything. He’s terrible about stopping before he finishes and after all the trouble we had getting him to put on weight, I don’t want to see him going back downhill.”

Tony shrugged. “I can give you all access to the Tower, of course. But for reminders, I can turn JARVIS loose on him. He’s used to bugging me, so it won’t be a problem.”

“JARVIS?”

“My AI.”

“Do you have a list of the people that will need access to the Tower? Peter’s doctors should be on it also in case of emergencies.”

“The Chief gave it to me.” Stark told him and Williams sighed again.

“It sucks, but I don’t know how else we’re gonna keep the kid safe from the crazies. They’ve gone mad.” He said. “When can he move in?”

“Now.”

Williams raised his eyebrows and pulled out his phone. “Alright. Let me call and make sure everything is still okay and we’ll go see if we can talk him into moving into the Tower. This ought to be fun.”

Twenty minutes later, they were pulling up in front of Peter’s house. Stark had come in his limo with his tag, ‘Stark 1’ on it, so Williams had to make this work. No way would the entire world not know where Tony Stark had been. He knocked on the front door and it was opened by one of his officers.

“Hey, Captain. We were just going to call you and get you to browbeat the kid into eating more. He’s only eaten about half of his dinner.”

Williams shook his head and looked around. “Kitchen table?”

“Yep.”

He waved the others in and made his way to the table. “Hey, Peter.”

The kid groaned and stood up. “Hello Captain Williams.”

He grinned when Peter made his way back to the stove and filled his plate again before returning. He sat down in the chair next to him. “You can eat and work. In fact, you have to. No skipping meals, kid. We talked about this.”

“I know.” Peter said distractedly. “It’s just… This is interesting. The robots in Manhattan were not only titanium plated, but they were also using Chitauri technology. Someone’s been busy.”

Williams eyebrows rose. “Really? Let me pull you away from that for a minute then to introduce you one more time. I brought some folks. Remember the Mayor and the Chief of Police?”

Peter looked up at them and smiled. “I do.” Williams had to hold his urge to snicker in as he watched them both turn a bit red under Peter’s gaze. To say that the kid looked good anymore was another understatement.

“Well, this one you’ve not met. Peter Parker, meet Tony Stark. CEO of Stark Industries.”

Stark stepped forward and held out his hand to Peter who sat down his fork and his phone and stood up to shake hands.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you face to face, Peter.”

“You too, Mr. Stark.”

“Now, being as New York has currently lost its mind over you Peter, Mr. Stark has offered you living space in his Tower, rent-free. The security is the best around and he’ll make sure you have a way to work and home every day. Quite frankly, we’re all worried that some complete crazy will find you and a mob will show up on your front lawn, kid. We want you safe.”

Peter paled a bit. “It’s that bad? Whatever for? I mean, they all saw me a few years ago and didn’t act like that.”

“That was before they all thought you’d died, Peter. And also before so many superhumans died. You’re one of the last ones around.” Stark told him and Williams nodded.

“You’ve also been in at least a half dozen TV documentaries too. You’re famous, kid.”

Peter sighed. “That sucks.”

Stark’s lips curved into a smile and he laughed. Williams just shook his head. “Only you Peter would think that being famous sucked.”

“Well, it does if it means I don’t even get to stay in my home.” Peter said quietly. Williams nudged him in the side. 

“Keep eating, kid. You still got a ways to go.”

Peter threw him a frown but turned back to his plate before his eyes lit up and he looked over at Stark. “You! You would understand it!” Peter pulled over his phone and typed rapidly before laying it in front of Stark. “Here. This is the picture of the odd network in the robots from today. It looks remarkably similar to the Chitauri neural network design with three odd design modifications. I think that they’re to allow multiple robots to be controlled by a machine instead of a living being, but… I’d like to have someone else look at it also.” Peter pushed his notebooks over to him, already open. “Those are the diagrams of the Chitauri neural network. Will you take a look?”

Stark smiled again and sat down at the table, pulling the phone over. “Is this the only picture?”

“No, I took over a hundred of them. Most of them will not end up in the database. I just wanted that network from every angle so I could look into it tonight.” Peter tossed a look over at him and Williams grinned. He could feel the sass coming on.

“Some people think that I should go home, even when there’re interesting things to do!” 

Stark barked out a surprised laugh. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had the same thing done to me. When you’re into something…” He said and Stark and Peter finished in unison.

“You’re into it!”

Williams groaned. “Save me. Oh, and keep eating Peter.”

Peter finished up his dinner over a conversation that was so heavily technical, none of them could keep up. By the time he finished eating; Peter seemed satisfied though and rounded up his notebooks.

“Thank you, Mr. Stark. Now, I’ll need to work on a way to jam the neural network signal first so that the system goes down before the cops will be able to shoot them out of the sky. It ought to be fun!”

 

Two months later, Hillson was making his way into Stark Tower. Once a week, someone would try to come and check up on Peter, making sure he was still eating and that everything was fine. He’d been doing great, so Hillson mainly just came over to visit. Wasn’t good for the kid to be alone so much. 

The elevator door opened and he stepped out onto Peter’s floor when he heard a low rumble and the building shook. He started running towards Peter’s rooms. The lights flickered before coming back on and he tried the door, finding it unlocked. He pulled his gun and made his way carefully into the room.

“Shit!” He spotted Peter on the floor. He had two feathered darts sticking out of his shoulder and he was bound hand and foot by some odd type of metal cuffs. Crouching down, he felt for Peter’s pulse, finding it slow but strong. He pulled out his phone and called the Captain.

He checked the rest of Peter’s apartment while filling in the Captain on the details. Taking the emergency stairs, he made his way towards the top, checking each floor. He didn’t find a soul until he was on the last flight of stairs to the penthouse. There were two people sprawled out, face down in front of him. Both of them were dressed oddly. The red haired woman was in a skin tight body suit and the man was carrying a bow and arrows.

He made sure both had a pulse before stepping around them, to push the door open. It opened onto complete devastation. The penthouse that had been Tony Stark’s home was a blasted ruin. The wind was howling in through the open windows, small fires still burning in what was left of his belongings.

“Son of a bitch…” He muttered and had to explain what he was seeing to the Captain. He could hear the sirens of emergency vehicles clearly now. He checked every room, but there was no sign of Stark. The Captain ordered him back to Peter, so he left the destroyed penthouse.

Opening the door to the stairway though, he found himself face to face with the two previously unconscious people. They all eyed each other warily before Hillson introduced himself and showed them his badge. He found himself gritting his teeth though, when they introduced themselves. Former Avengers or not, a cop would never get along with SHIELD assassins.

He told them that the emergency personnel were there and shoved past them, making his way back downstairs to Peter. Opening Peter’s door though, he had to stop in shock.

“Peter?!” He called out, hoping for an answer. Where the kid had been, were two feathered darts and metal cuffs that had been on his feet and hands, both of which were ripped in half.

He checked every room quickly before heading down the hall, looking for a sign. “Where the hell are you, kid?”

He finally found a door that had been ripped open and carefully stuck his head into the room, hearing the clicking of keys on the keyboard.

“Peter?”

“In here.”

Hillson made his way into the empty lab carefully, finally spotting Peter. The kid was typing at light speed on a computer keyboard.

“What’s going on, Peter?”

“JARVIS is down, Sergeant. I’m trying to get him working again as we need information. Mr. Stark’s also going to want his building secured and JARVIS can do it.”

“Um, I hate to bust your bubble, kid. Stark’s love child can’t be ‘fixed’ by just anyone. The code is a million miles ahead of the rest of the world.” 

Hillson turned to see the two people from earlier standing in the doorway. The woman was holding the darts from Peter’s room and the man had the metal cuffs that Peter had ripped off. Peter never stopped typing though.

“Why haven’t you two gone down to the EMTs to get checked out?” Hillson asked them. “You both were unconscious.”

The assassins traded looks before the man shrugged. “We’re fine. We’re just looking for information also. We used to work with Stark and had been on our way over to see him when this…” He waved his hand to encompass the building. “…happened.”

The speakers in the room chose that moment to make a strange, garbled noise which finally turned into a voice. 

“…connection is successful, Peter. Initiating boot up on all systems once more.” JARVIS said in his usual European voice. “Sixteen seconds to full restart.”

Peter finally stopped typing and waited. The room lights flickered once more and the computer he’d been working on shut down and restarted. Hillson waited nervously by his kid, while the other two looked stunned. When the lights came back on again, JARVIS spoke.

“I’m bringing up everything I’ve got on the attack on your terminal, Peter.”

“Thanks, JARVIS.” Peter went back to work and soon they were all watching the video of the attack. When it finished, Hillson sighed.

“Well, we know Stark’s not dead now. That’s good news.”

“It is.” Peter said. “JARVIS? Are you still tracking the robots?”

“I am, Peter. They are moving very, very slowly towards the ocean. I can put their flight path on the screen now.”

The view on the monitor changed and all of them grimaced. “Shock and awe.”

“Yep. Tryin’ to make an impression by going over the most heavily populated areas.” Hillson said. “Real sons of bitches, aren’t they?”

Peter turned to him. “Hillson? As long as they’re over New York City, they’re still in the police jurisdiction, aren’t they?”

“That’s right, kid.”

“Let’s go get Stark then.”

Hillson’s eyebrows shot up and Peter shrugged. “Watch the robots pattern of flight. They’re centered around an unseen object. A BIG unseen object. All of the Hydra agents we saw on the video came from somewhere and they took Tony back to that same somewhere. Besides, they’ve gotta learn that the NYPD isn’t going to take this anymore.”

Hillson locked gazes with Peter for the longest time. “You can get us there?”

Peter nodded. “I can. As long as it’s not over the ocean.”

“You think you can break him out?”

He shrugged. “Without a floor plan or even an image of the ship itself, who knows? But I’ll bring along my gear and JARVIS will help us hack anything needed, I’m sure.”

“He’s right, Sergeant Hillson. I wish to rescue sir. Hydra is not kind to their prisoners.” JARVIS said.

“Hey, that’s a good way for a bunch of amateurs to get killed. Let SHIELD investigate.” The woman said and both Peter and Hillson shook their head.

“SHIELD investigates international shit. This… This is strictly NYPD. Hydra just kidnapped one of our most prominent citizens.” Hillson pulled out his phone and started dialing. “Peter? Get your suit on and get your gear. Hopefully, we’ll get the all clear soon.”

Peter nodded and vanished back out the door. Hillson got hold of the Captain, only to find out that the man was almost here. He headed towards the elevator, getting there just in time for the Chief of Police, Captain Williams and a handful of other cops to come running out. It took him only a couple of minutes to get them up to speed. 

“It’s late. Is the darkness going to be a problem for Peter?” The Chief asked. “I don’t want him to get hurt over something like that. It’s risky enough as it is.”

“Spider-Man used to work all the time at night, Chief. I doubt it’ll bother him. He’s also the one that suggested we take care of this.”

“Do you have your body armor with you, Hillson?”

“No, sir. I was just coming for a visit.”

The Chief had them call downstairs to get a set coming up. “Does Peter have everything he needs?”

“I do.” Peter chipped in. He was dressed in his suit, a very familiar red and gold briefcase sitting on the floor next to him and his usual backpack slung over his shoulder.

“What do you need from us then?” The Chief asked and Peter shrugged.

“A lot of it, I won’t know until I get there. Will someone be able to monitor the live feed from this suit? If I run across something, we can bring it up then.”

“Yeah, kid. I had them bring over the portable system. It’s set up downstairs in the lobby.”

“Good. The only other thing I can think of is whether or not the NYPD has night vision goggles or something. Those robots are going to have to go down regardless.”

The cops traded looks. “We can get something together. You’re right. Either way, we need to take the bastards down.”

“Do you have your phone then, Hillson? Maybe you’ll be able to get service if we’re still over the city.” Peter said.

Hillson patted his pocket. “Got it.” The elevator opened again and a couple more cops ran out, handing over the set of armor. Hillson pulled it on quickly. Peter webbed the briefcase suit to his back and held out his arms. 

“Come on, Hillson. You’re gonna have to hug me like a tree and I’ll make sure you’re secure. It’ll be a wild ride to get there.”

Hillson moved in and wrapped himself around Peter. The kid webbed him into place, which was rather embarrassing, but he didn’t feel like taking a free fall to his death tonight. Peter hopped in place and nodded, satisfied that everything was secured.

“JARVIS? Are you connected to my gear?”

“I am, Peter. I can give you updates via your earpiece also as I am currently tracking the craft’s position and movement.”

“Thanks. You guys ready?”

The Chief nodded. “We just got word that the feed from the suit is live. Go, Peter. We’re going to be following via chopper.”

“Captain?” Peter asked and Captain Williams nodded his head.

“Go on. I’ll be in the chopper with the Chief you two. Good luck.”

Peter turned and headed for the stairs, while the rest of them headed for their positions. It was going to be a long evening.

 

Cooper looked up at the TV running in the background. He was stationed at Peter’s live feed station. Dr. Weston was next to him with his laptop running, monitoring the data he was getting from the suit.

“And once more, the NYPD has shown their commitment to taking down the supervillain threat. Tonight, Stark Tower was attacked by what sources are telling us was Hydra. Yes folks, Hydra! The organization that all of us thought was destroyed back in WWII. The NYPD was on the scene immediately and we’ve watched as they’ve loaded up their ‘anti-robot’ teams equipped with night vision in choppers in multiple locations.”

The scene turned to the front of Stark Tower and Cooper could see the Chief and the Captain climbing into a chopper also.

“Behind us, the Chief of Police and the Captain in charge of the superhuman Spider-Man, are boarding a chopper to follow also. Evidently, they’ve worked out a plan of attack.”

The video cut to a view from the ground of Stark Tower and Cooper could see Spider-Man launch himself from the destroyed remains of the penthouse, free falling for at least a hundred feet before starting to web swing his way across Manhattan. It was a nice shot, as Peter was well lit by the portable spotlights the news crews had brought in.

“As you can see everyone, they’ve released Spider-Man now. He seems to be carrying some things with him as he heads out on the trail of this latest source of terror for our city. There is a growing sense of pride across the city as the police have proven to be formidable in our defense…”

“How’s he doing, Doc?” Cooper asked Sherman Weston, Peter’s doctor.

Sherman grinned at him brightly. “This is a walk in the park for him. His heart rate and breathing are no higher than what you or I might expect from a nice stroll.”

“So, he’s fine then?”

“More than, Officer. The difference that steady meals have made in him is astonishing. We have the hospital team on standby though. None of us know how this is going to play out.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

He toggled over the comm. line. “Hey, Hillson? How are you enjoying the ride?”

“Shit, shit, shit, shiiiiiiitttt…..” 

“Come on, Hillson! You love roller coasters!”

“I know, but this… It’s so fast. How far away from the robots are we now?”

“Not far. Less than a mile before he’s gonna be fighting his way through them to the ship.”

“Great. Just great. Tell me again that I love my job, Cooper. I need to hear it.”

“You love being a cop, Hillson. You know you do.”

“I do. I know I do. This will be worth it if these sons of bitches learn to quit messing with us.”

“Damn straight, my friend. I’m gonna switch over and see what Peter’s hearing, okay?”

“Sure. He’s not even breathing hard.” Hillson said in disgust. Cooper laughed and switched channels, hearing the European tones of Stark’s AI fill the air. He listened for a while as technical information way beyond his level filled the channel, with Peter cutting in for more information a couple of times.

“You understand any of this, Doc?”

“A little. I focused on medicine, not hard science, but the AI is giving very specific technical specifications on some kind of energy field. I guess the one that’s keeping the ship invisible.”

“Thanks, Doc.”

He picked up the radio. “Hey, Captain! This is Cooper, over.”

“Go ahead, Cooper.”

“I checked with the Doc. He understands some of what’s going on with Peter’s channel. He said the AI is giving him some very specific technical specifications on an energy field that’s keeping the ship from being seen.”

“Thank god someone understands it. I guess the kid’s gonna be doing his research on the fly one more time, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s good at it, Captain. He’s gonna be fine.”

“I know. I still worry though.”

“Me, too.”

The view from Peter’s camera suddenly started changing rapidly as he finally caught up to the robots and started leap frogging his way higher and higher into the air. Cooper opened up both feeds from Hillson and Peter, waiting for someone to speak. Peter finally did.

“Hey Cooper, you listening?”

“I’m here, kid.”

“Tell them to use the EMF bullets on these guys and to aim for the neck. They’re heavily shielded and that joint is the only spot I’m seeing that’s thin enough.”

“I still cannot believe that you can tell that while in the middle of a battle. I’ll tell them, kid.”

“Thanks, Cooper. Also, I’m almost to the edge of the field around the ship. Hillson and I are going to be offline for a bit as I’ve got to get us on the thing and then reset the electronics to work through the field. JARVIS! I’m about 30 seconds from blackout.”

“Very good, Peter. Let me know.” JARVIS answered.

“Will do.”

“We’ll be waiting nervously, kid. Stay safe.”

Cooper picked up the radio once more and let the Captain know what Peter had said.

“I’ll relay it to the teams, Cooper. Good job! Let me know when Peter comes back on line.”

“Of course, Captain.”

Peter’s feed fuzzed and dropped out and he turned his attention back to the TV where several news choppers were reporting on Spider-Man’s disappearance. It was actually terrible, as all the bad guys had to do was watch TV to see what was going on. He sighed and drug a chair over to sit down, tapping his fingers on the table impatiently.

At the ten minute mark, the Captain called him.

“Anything, yet?”

“Not yet, sir.”

“If I might interrupt for a moment, officer? Peter and I discussed it and it is likely to take between 17 and 20 minutes depending on conditions, to reconnect.” JARVIS voice came from the air and Cooper jumped.

“Did you hear that, Captain?”

“No. What was it?”

“Stark’s AI said that he talked it over with Peter and it’s gonna take between 17-20 minutes to reconnect. So, we’re only halfway through the wait.”

“Thanks, Cooper.”

“No problem.”

Cooper sat the radio back down and heard a ruckus behind him. He turned to find the Mayor himself headed his way with several people in fatigues. He stood up and shook hands with the Mayor as they surrounded him.

“Officer Cooper, I’d like to introduce you to General Hill. He’s the one in charge of our local National Guard base. I brought him along in case we need even more assistance in bringing this thing down.”

“Good to meet you, sir.”

“You too, Officer. We’ve heard a lot about New York’s superhuman division. When all this is over, I’d like a chance to talk with all of you about it also.”

“Of course, sir.”

“Now, can you catch us up on what’s going on, Officer?” The Mayor asked and Cooper spent the next few minutes going over what they knew. Sherman gave an update on Peter’s health also.

“Connection is reestablished, Officer.” JARVIS suddenly spoke and Cooper turned to see the video was live again.

“Hell, yeah!”

“Peter? You guys okay?”

“Uh-huh. Just got to get the door hacked and Hillson and I will be in.” Peter told him. Cooper was almost sickened by the view of endless blackness lit up with only the lights of the city. Peter was apparently stuck on the side of the ship itself. Which reminded him…

“Just how damn big IS that ship?”

“It’s huge. Monstrously huge. Once I get us in, we’re going to find Stark and see if we can take over the bridge. I have no idea where we can possibly land something this large.” Peter told him, as he typed rapidly on his phone from the looks of it. The door they were stuck next to suddenly opened up, revealing a dimly lit corridor. “Going in.”

Cooper and the crowd around him watched Peter’s video feed as he crawled them along the roof down the corridor. Twice, they saw groups of Hydra soldiers pass in front of them, but no alarm was sounded. Peter was peaking into every room they passed and he made a soft noise of approval when he found a computer room.

“Hey Hillson? As the NYPD on the scene, can I go in and take those guys down? I need to get to the terminal.” Peter whispered to him.

They all heard Hillson snort in disbelief. “Do what you gotta do, webs. Let’s get the damn thing down first and we’ll sort out protocols later.”

“Deal.” Peter’s camera view rolled around as he dropped to the floor and swept into the room with horrifying speed. Mere seconds later, there was a pile of people webbed to the ceiling in the corner of the room and Peter cut Hillson loose so he could keep a lookout. All they could see for the next several minutes was Peter plugging his phone and tablet computer into the towers and typing rapidly.

“JARVIS? Are you connected?”

“I am. I am searching their network now for sir’s location. I’ve downloaded a map to your phone also. Found him. He’s in Cell block 4, Peter. Cell 23.” JARVIS said and Peter looked over at his phone.

“Oh, but that’s a good distance away. I’m going to go ahead and install the alarm hacks as well as overrides on the door systems. Are you seeing any weapons between here and there?”

“Three. I can disable if you’d prefer.”

“Please do. Neither one of us wants to be fried tonight.”

Peter unplugged his stuff and put it back into his backpack before turning to Hillson. “You ready? It’s a long run to him.”

“I am. Are we sticking to the ground this time?”

“Nope. I’m still carrying you as we’re going to stay on the ceiling and take out anyone we come across. We’ll web’em up and leave them in locked rooms. JARVIS is riding their system now and can make sure the locks won’t be easily opened.”

“Indeed. I am here to support you in recovering sir.” The AI said and Hillson walked up and wrapped himself around Peter.

“Let’s go then. God only knows what they’re doing to Stark now.”

“True enough.”

What followed was 45 minutes of pure damn stress for Cooper as he watched his friend and the best damn kid he’d ever met infiltrate an enemy base. He’d smiled when he realized that Hillson had his taser and was using it every time they found soldiers.

When the solid steel doors came into view labeled ‘Cell Block 4’, he felt like crying in relief.

“How many have they taken out so far?” He heard someone ask behind him.

“63.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. We’re going to need a huge holding facility for this many people.”

Peter was working to hack this set of doors and Hillson was waiting on the side, ready to go. As soon as it opened, Peter was through in a blur, Hillson right behind him. They cleared the entire cell block before going to cell 23. Peter peeked inside and nodded to Hillson, working on opening the individual cell. When the door swished open, Peter stuck his head into the opening.

“Hi, Stark. Fancy meeting you here.”

They saw the man gather himself and limp over to the door. “So you’re my ride, huh? How did you get here so fast?”

“We didn’t waste any time, Mr. Stark.” Hillson told him. “This shit’s serious and these people have got to learn not to mess with us!”

Stark managed a grin and they could see that he was rather battered. “Any idea on how we’re going to get out of here?”

“Sure.” Peter ripped the bundle off of his back and sat it down. “We need to take over this thing and find a place to set it down. JARVIS has been helping me.”

“Shit!” Stark said in wonder as he walked forward. “I forgot I left this one on your floor…”

“Yeah. It’s the only one left I think. They pretty much took out your house.” Hillson told him. “It’s ugly.”

Stark drug the suit out into the open floor space and it suddenly exploded, wrapping him inside it. The suit’s eyes glowed and he nodded.

“JARVIS?”

“It’s very good to hear your voice, sir. I have been assisting Spider-Man in the hostile take-over of the Hydra vessel. Would you like me to continue?”

“Hell, yeah. Give us the ship specs as we make our way to the bridge, okay?”

What followed was brutal. Peter and Tony cleared the path in the most direct method possible, leaving behind endless locked doors, and rooms filled with unconscious, webbed up soldiers.

“JARVIS?” Sherman cut in. “Are you getting any medical data from Mr. Stark?”

“I am, Doctor Weston.”

“May I have access to it also? I’d like to keep an eye on both of them. This is very, very strenuous activity now.”

It was quiet for a moment before JARVIS answered. “Access enabled. It’s on your screen now.”

Sherman made a pleased noise and went back to work on his laptop. Cooper turned his attention back to the video feed. They had made it to a large elevator and this time, Stark was the one typing rapidly. When the elevator door opened, it was silent and Hillson grinned. “You did it!”

“Of course I did.” Stark said, never stopping. “Don’t want to give them any warning, do we?”

The door closed and Peter gently pushed Hillson to the side. “I’m going out first to take down the bridge crew. Stark’s gonna be here with you to make sure that none of them are able to set off any alarms, just in case I’m a bit too slow, okay?”

“Got it, Spider-Man. I’ll wait here.”

Peter turned and they all saw the elevator doors come back into view as he stood directly in front of them, bouncing on his feet. When the doors opened, the view from his camera blurred into shapeless colors as he moved too fast for the camera. It was over in seconds, leaving another pile of moaning, webbed up soldiers lying there and Stark and Hillson coming out to join him.

“Alright, Spider. I’m thinking about an engine failure, what about you?” Stark said. “That ought to get all the bastards motivated into getting off this thing and then we can see about setting it down.”

Spider-Man turned to Hillson, who sighed. “Cooper, you there?”

“I’m here.”

“See if we can get permission to try for an engine failure scenario and see if we can get all these folks to bail out.”

“Got it.”

He spent a minute on the radio before answering. “All clear. The Chief, the Mayor and the Captain all gave their okay.”

He watched as Peter and Tony went to work, plugging in their electronics and starting to type once more. Cooper turned to the Chief. “If this works, there’s gonna be bad guys bailing out non-stop. We’ll have to be ready.”

“Good point.” The Chief left, calling over even more officers as they started scattering everywhere.

“We can provide assistance with that at least, Mayor. I can have the MPs here along with transports in 30 minutes.” General Hill told him.

“Good. Let’s get with the Chief. We’ll let the NYPD handle the apprehension and get your people to transport for us. We’re not equipped to handle large numbers like this.” The two of them headed off, leaving Cooper and Sherman to man the station once more. He settled back into his chair with a sigh, grateful that there had still not been any alarms on that big ship.

“Alright. JARVIS? You ready?” Stark called out.

“All connections are established, sir. I’m reading ship-wide right now.”

“Good.”

“Peter?”

“I’m finishing up the script for engine failure and restart. Oh, joy.”

Stark laughed. “I’m ready also. As soon as you finish, call it out and we’ll start.”

It was silent for less than a minute before Peter spoke. “I’m ready. Go ahead.”

Stark nodded and went to work. All around them, the lights on the terminals started changing from green to amber before finally blinking red. They could hear a change in the low level rumble they’d been hearing the entire time before an automated voice spoke over the intercom.

“Attention! Attention! We have engine failure on engines 2 and 5! Both engines have gone down and the power core is overheating. Radiation levels are rising on decks 12- 15. This is a level 5 emergency! All hands abandon ship! I say again, all hands abandon ship! Follow your emergency evacuation protocols!”

Hillson shifted nervously. “Cooper, you guys are ready to pick up the ones bailing, right?”

“We are.”

“Good.”

“Sir, the first life pods have already ejected. Personnel on the ship are moving towards their emergency exits now. ETA to complete evacuation – 2.3 minutes.”

“Alright. Now, I just get to try and keep a rock in the air without two of its engines. We can’t try for a restart until they’re out.” Tony muttered under his breath. “Never a dull moment.”

“Call it out, JARVIS. I want to know the second we’re clear!”

“Yes, sir.”

“Peter, you gonna be ready?”

“Absolutely. It’s rather freaky without the background noise.”

“Don’t I know it. Hey Hillson?”

“What is it, Stark?”

“Can you find us someplace to set down this monstrous ship? They should be seeing us in… 12 more seconds.”

“I’ll call it in.” Hillson said. “Talk to me, Cooper.”

“I heard, man.” He picked up the radio. “Heads up, Captain. The ship will be visible in seconds and they’ll need someplace to land it.”

“Alright, that’s goo- ARGH!” Captain Williams yelled as an enormous flying ship came into view ahead of them. It took a couple of seconds to recover their equilibrium. “I need to see if the Chief and Mayor know of anyplace for something that size. Let me call you back.”

“Okay, boss.”

Cooper stuck to the video feed as Stark and Peter kept up their work. The entire bridge was lit up by flashing red lights now.

“Sir. ETA to clear – 41 seconds more.”

“Thanks, J.”

“32 seconds more.”

“15 seconds more.”

“5 seconds… All mobile life signs are now off the ship, sir.”

“Go, Peter! Initiate restart!”

“Initiating. Estimate 45 seconds to usable boost.”

Hillson spoke over the link. “Are you watching this shit, Cooper?”

“I am. Frickin’ awesome isn’t it?”

“It is. Makes me wish I’d gone to college.”

“Hey, I went to college but it’s way over my head.” Sherman cut in and the others managed a laugh.

“Yeah, but you’re a doctor. I think that counts as brilliant in a different area.”

“10…”

“7…”

“4…”

“Engines are spooling up for a hot start. Estimate 2 minutes to 100% power.” Peter called out and Stark nodded.

“Got it. This thing is a DAMN ROCK though! Hey Hillson? Where can we land?”

“Cooper?”

“I’ll have to call.” He grabbed the radio. “Captain?”

“I’m here. General Hill is supposed to be calling me back if he can get clearance to land that thing at the Guard Base.”

“Good. They’re trying for a restart on the engines now. It should be flying well again and ready to land soon.”

“As soon as I hear, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

“Alright. Engines 2 and 5 are at 70% and climbing.” Peter called out.

“Hey, JARVIS. Get ready to back me up. Webs? You gonna be able to handle ship systems and power?”

“I already am! Just don’t let us fall out of the sky, Tony!”

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

“Engines 2 and 5 are at 100%. Full power available, engines 1 through 6. Go!”

“Initiate pilot program, J. Let’s get the rock moving towards the Guard base and hope that they get us clearance.”

“Very good, sir.”

All Cooper and Sherman could do was watch as the bridge lights slowly changed back over from red to amber to green and the steady low rumble once more could be heard over the line. Peter had to get up and run across the bridge a couple of times to use different terminals. 

“Hey, Cooper!” The radio blared to life and he snatched it up. 

“Go ahead.”

“Tell’em that the General got’em clearance. Set that big bastard down at the Guard Base. Their tower should be contacting them any minute. Let’em know.”

“Alright, sir!”

He switched back to the comm. “Hey guys! You have clearance to land at the Guard Base. Their tower is supposed to be contacting you.”

“Awesome.” Tony said drolly. “Hope they make it brief. We’re a little busy here.”

Cooper could hear an audio transmission suddenly cut in over the bridge.

“Attention unidentified Hydra ship! This is Peyton Field tower. We’ve been told to contact you as you need clearance to land.”

“It would be appreciated. This thing is supposed to be run with a crew of 12 people and we’re doing it with two and an AI. Help us out here.” Tony answered and Peter once more sprinted across the bridge to settle into yet another chair and start typing rapidly.

“We’re clearing the air for you, sir. You’ll need to maintain your heading until you have visual and descend to 2000 feet.”

“Maintain heading and descend to 2000 feet. Got it.” Tony said never stopping.

An odd high pitched whistling sound could be heard and Peter’s head jerked up. Across the bridge, the terminal he’d been at was starting to change back to amber from green. “Shit!” He bolted back over to the engineering station and his fingers flew across the keyboard.

“Hey Tony, Engine 5 is experiencing a 31% power variation. I’m rerouting now. It’s gonna be quirky for a minute.”

“Great. Bet it was lowest bidder.” Tony said snarkily. “Just don’t let it crap out on me. You told me to keep this thing in the air until it’s safely landed.”

“Ugh. Yeah, well… I’m working on it too.” Peter grumbled as he typed. “I think I want to sleep for a week after this. When you get kidnapped, you do it RIGHT, Tony.”

“Nothing but the best for a Stark, Webs.” 

Hillson and Peter both groaned. 

“Alright. Reroute stabilized. It should hold until we get on the ground.” Peter said and Cooper realized that the odd whistling sound was gone once more.

“Attention Hydra craft. We have you in visual now. Do you see the airstrip?” The Tower called them and Tony groaned.

“That would mean that I have to look up. JARVIS! Do you have visual?”

“I do, sir. Would you like me to take over the manual piloting?”

“Please. This rock is a real bitch to fly. I can’t stop.”

“Peyton Tower, we have visual.” JARVIS answered them and Cooper wondered idly if the tower knew that they were talking to an AI that was flying the ship.

“You are cleared to land. Emergency vehicles are standing by. Let us know if you need anything.”

“Of course, Peyton Tower. Starting descent now.” JARVIS said coolly and next to Tony, the yoke started moving on its own.

Hillson pointed. “That’s freaky shit right there, Cooper.”

“No doubt.”

It was silent on the big ship as Tony and Peter worked. “Hey Doc? How are they doing?”

“Their stress levels are through the roof. Stark’s showing signs of dehydration and exhaustion. Peter’s simply exhausted. He’s gotten a couple of cuts during the fighting, but the sensor net is telling me that they’ve already healed. Basically, he’s going to need a mountain of food and a whole lot of sleep to recover. Stark might need an IV and some treatment for the tender care Hydra bestowed on him.”

“So they’ll be able to stay on their feet and get that thing on the ground then?”

“Oh, yes. They’re in no danger of collapse.”

“Good news then.”

All they could do was watch as their superhumans and the AI worked at a ridiculous pace to get the huge ship on the ground. None of them knew there was an entire fleet of helicopters behind them. News crews, NYPD, National Guard… Everyone had their birds in the air to watch what was turning out to be one of the largest victories the NYPD had so far.

“Peyton Tower, unidentified Hydra craft is entering final approach now.” JARVIS called out.

“Roger that, Hydra craft.”

It was terribly quick from that point. Hillson suddenly remembered he was standing and ran to a chair, settling into place and hanging on. The main screen on the ship was showing the bright landing lights of the giant airstrip before them and when the tires chirped at contact with the ground both of them groaned in relief.

They could all hear the big engines suddenly firing off in reverse thrust to slow the giant thing down and the brakes were screaming under the strain as it ever so slowly… slowed down.

Ahead of them on the screen, Cooper could see the other end of the runway already. “Shit, doc! They’re gonna run out of room!”

Sherman’s hand had moved over and was grabbing onto his arm tightly as he watched. There was no sign of panic on either Tony or Peter as they worked at a frantic pace. The roar of the engines was getting louder and louder as they were able to push more power into reverse as the big ship slowed. When that thing finally stopped, all he could see on their forward screen was the grassy field at the end of the strip.

“Are you guys still on the runway?” He asked.

“Of course. Not too bad for landing an unknown ship on an unknown runway with an AI for a pilot.” Stark told them cheerfully. “Now, we’ve got to find out where to park. Talk to’em, J.”

“Peyton Tower, this is the unidentified Hydra craft. We are currently at full stop and in need of directions. Where do you want us to go?”

When the Tower answered, they sounded a little shaky too. 

“Hydra craft, will that thing back up? If possible, we need you to turn right and head towards the far lot. We have flagmen on the ground, ready to direct you.”

“Hey, Peter? Got any reverse thrust left?” Tony asked. Peter frowned and checked.

“Usable power is declining steadily with the blades shut down. If we hurry, we can make it.”

“Put her in reverse. J? Turn right and follow the flagmen.”

“Of course, sir.”

The engines roared again and the giant ship crept slowly backwards, inch by inch before picking up speed.

“That’s fine, Peter. Forward thrust please.” JARVIS told him and Peter nodded, still typing. The engine sound changed once more and the huge ship slowly turned right and crept its way along the taxiway following the flagmen. They were finally stopped in the middle of a giant blacktop lot and given directions to shut down.

Peter and Tony both groaned again. “Here we go. More work. JARVIS, we’re going through the shutdown checklist now.”

“Peter, you got it?”

“Yeah. I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of typing.”

Tony barked a laugh. “This one’s been a handful, that’s for sure.”

All around the huge ship, Guard and NYPD choppers were landing as the news crews were forced to maintain their distance. The giant ship was quickly circled by manpower as everyone prepared to board and take over the prisoners.

“Hey Cooper! Tell them to open a door for us as soon as they can. Everyone’s staged and we’re ready. I don’t want them to leave the bridge until we get to them. It might take a while and I’m not going to risk an accidental shooting.” Captain Williams told him.

“Good. Sir? Can I get the Doctor on his way out there? Will someone be there to let him onto the base? He’s gonna need to check them over after this one, sir.”

“Absolutely. Tell him to come on. The General has sent someone to the gate with directions to get him to us right away.”

“Thanks, Captain. Do you want me to pack up the portable base?”

“Sure thing, Cooper. See if you can get all our gear handled and back to station. The Chief tells me that he’s got security at Stark Tower handled.”

“Excellent.” Cooper turned to Sherman and found him on his phone. He was folding up his laptop one handed as he talked on his phone.

“You heard, Doc?”

“I did. Thank you, Officer Cooper. I need to get through the crowd though and over to the hospital. Any ideas on a good way out of here?”

“Yeah, hang on.” Cooper ran outside and returned in a minute. “Dan here is on a chopper crew. He’ll get you over to the hospital, okay?”

“Fabulous! I’m ready to go!” Sherman told him and they vanished out the door.

Cooper switched on the comm. again. “Hey guys! Captain wants a door open as soon as you can. They’re gonna board and start removing the soldiers you’ve got left. Direct order though. Do not move from the bridge. Captain doesn’t want anyone being trigger happy and having an accident. They’re gonna come and get you. Got it?”

Peter nodded. “Got it.”

Hillson nodded. “Got it, Cooper.”

They both turned to Stark who promptly grumbled. “Fine. I got it. I’m starving though.”

Peter laughed. “Me too.”

“Hey Stark? The Chief has arranged for Security for your tower for now. I’ve got to break down the portable base and see about getting our guys and gear rounded back up and back to the precinct. Do you need anything before I shut this down?”

“Nah. JARVIS can handle it if I do.”

“Okay then. Great work tonight, guys. I’m glad to see that you’re well, Mr. Stark. Maybe losing a giant ship will teach them not to fuck with us again.”

Tony’s faceplate opened and he grinned. “I hope so. I’m tired of assassination attempts and kidnappings. I’m getting too old for this shit.”

 

Peter groaned as an annoying sound finally made its way into his awareness.

“Peter! Peter! Please wake up.” JARVIS was repeating, over and over.

Peter raised his head and blinked blearily. “Wha’ is it?”

“I am wondering if perhaps you would be able to help me again?” JARVIS asked. “Sir’s health is one of my primary programming directives and in this case, I cannot help him.”

Peter blinked again, trying to get his brain moving. They’d only gotten back to Stark Tower a few hours ago. He’d been given time off until Monday and he’d planned on sleeping through it all.

“What is it, JARVIS? Is he sick?”

“Peter, this information is confidential. I believe that you understand how important it is to hold secrets.”

He nodded and JARVIS continued. “Sir suffers from PTSD quite terribly. His sleeping habits are non-existent for the most part and the nightmares wake him up whenever he does manage to get to sleep. According to the doctor, sir needs to sleep to heal. However, due to his PTSD, sleep isn’t easy for him.”

Peter grimaced. “I know all about PTSD. It sucks.”

“Indeed. In all my research, I have read that having someone nearby can increase feelings of safety enough to allow a sufferer to actually sleep. Would you be willing to go to sir and sleep next to him? He needs rest desperately, Peter.”

Peter’s eyebrows rose. “You… You want me to go sleep next to Tony…?”

“I do. He must rest, Peter.”

Peter looked around his room for a moment before blowing out his breath in a huff and climbing to his feet. He grabbed his blanket off the bed and wrapped it around his shoulders. “Where is he?”

“Please enter the elevator and I will take you to sir’s floor.”

He padded silently down the hall and stood patiently in the elevator as JARVIS took him up to Tony’s temporary floor. The door swished open and he followed JARVIS’ directions until he found himself in the living room area of this floor. All the blinds were drawn, leaving the room in darkness.

Peter yawned. Darkness hadn’t slowed him down in years now. He made his way silently over to the couch and found Tony sitting cross legged in nothing but his boxers. He looked absolutely shattered sitting there and Peter made a soft noise of sympathy. He was quite familiar with that feeling himself.

“Hey, Tony.”

Stark jerked and his eyes rose up to him in the darkness. “…the hell? What’re you doing here?”

“Coming for a visit. I have trouble sleeping after I’ve been in a fight. PTSD sucks, you know.” Peter told him calmly and settled into place next to him on the couch. He spent a minute shifting his blanket around until he had it behind him.

“What are you still doing up?” He asked Tony, wondering what he’d say.

It was quiet for a bit before he answered. “You said it. Sleep is a real bitch.”

Peter nodded. “Don’t I know it. It’s bad enough I lived through it once, but the endless replays and variations… It’s maddening.”

Tony nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Well, in that case, I think you can be my teddy bear. They always said that a teddy bear will help with the nightmares. I just never bought one.”

Stark slowly turned his head towards him and Peter could see that he was puzzled. “Wait… What?”

Peter flicked the blanket on out of the way but still in reach and wrapped his arm around Tony’s shoulders, pulling him effortlessly into his side. He rolled slightly and had the two of them sprawled out on the couch. He was on his back and Tony was half draped across him. He held the struggling Stark in place and drug the blanket off the back of the couch and covered them both up.

“G’night, Tony. Maybe this way we both can get some sleep.”

Stark gave up on trying to get away before Peter dozed off again, but he doubted he’d stay once he fell asleep. The couch was comfortable though and he was tired. It would all work out. 

Awareness came back to him slowly and he yawned. Slowly he became aware of the hot press of a body next to him and he looked over in surprise. He’d really thought that Tony would have left. Instead, the man was curled up into his side, his head pillowed on his bare chest. Peter yawned again before his brain caught up and he realized that his t-shirt was pushed up, allowing Tony to sleep on him, skin to skin.

The famous CEO was deeply asleep and from the dark circles under his eyes, he needed still more.

“What time is, JARVIS?”

“2:30pm, Peter.”

“Is there anything he’s supposed to be doing today?”

“No. I have cleared his schedule to give him time to recover.”

“Good. I’m going back to sleep then.”

“Very good, Peter.”

It only took a moment for sleep to swallow him once more.

“…Order… hungry… pizza…” Words slowly filtered into Peter’s awareness and he shifted before yawning.

“We’re sleepin’ here…” He mumbled and he heard Tony laugh.

“We have indeed been sleeping. You’ve missed all of your meals for the day, Peter. I’m ordering a mountain of pizza.”

“Pizza…?”

“Yep.”

“Time ‘s it?”

“10:30pm, believe it or not. We slept the entire day away.”

“Good.”

He felt a finger poke him in the chest and he grumbled.

“Not good. You need to eat. I remember the doctor saying that quite clearly. We’re going to get up, get the pizza, eat every single slice of it and go back to bed. Deal?”

Peter’s stomach rumbled and he grimaced, opening his eyes. “I guess so.” He was met by Tony’s smiling face. His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You look a lot better.”

That famous smile turned into a smirk. “I’m glad you think so, seeing as we’re sharing a couch.”

He groaned and rolled his eyes. “Budge over. Gotta get up and find the bathroom.”

Tony laughed once more, the sound remarkably different from his usual sarcastic bark, but he slid off and let Peter get up. 

“Second door on the right.”

Peter waved and drifted down the hall towards the bathroom.  
When he came out, he found that Tony was gone from the living room. Peter grabbed his blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders again, yawning once more as he did his best to sleepwalk down the hall towards the kitchen.

Tony looked up before grinning at the sight of him. “Are you even awake?”

“Nope.” Peter said, eyeing the literal pizza mountain on the table. “That’s a lot of pizza.”

“Uh-huh. They said you needed anywhere from 25000-27000 calories a day, Peter. Today you haven’t had any. Eat as much as you possibly can please.”

Peter pulled out a chair and Tony shoved a cup at him. “Drinks are in the fridge.”

“Good.” Peter pulled out a Dr. Pepper and poured it up, returning to the table and the pizza. Now that he was awake, he was aware that he was ravenous. He sat down and ate his first slice so fast he almost inhaled it. Two more slices followed almost as fast before he could stop and take a breath. Tony was watching him carefully.

“Don’t stop. You have to eat.”

“Not that fast, I don’t. I haven’t been this hungry in a while.”

Peter managed to pace himself, but still wound up eating a pizza and a half before he was full. Tony waved to the pizza.

“You need to eat more. Still not enough calories.”

Peter patted his stomach. “I can’t eat a day’s worth of food all at once! I’d explode. As it is, I can’t believe I ate that much all at once now!”

Tony snickered and finished up his slice. “Now, I’ll put this away and get cleaned up. I’ve got some spare toothbrushes in my bathroom if you want to get cleaned up in there or you can go back to yours. Just so long as you come back. I want to go back to sleep.”

Peter nodded his head. “I’ll go back to mine. That way we won’t run into each other. Be back in a couple of minutes.”

He made short work of cleaning up and changing his clothes into a clean set. He left his blanket in his room and made his way back upstairs, already yawning again.

“Sir is in the bedroom, Peter. The door on the left.” JARVIS told him as he stepped out.

“Thanks, JARVIS.” He gathered up his courage and made his way there quickly, trying not to feel weirded out by the situation. Tony was flipping the covers back on the bed, already in his boxers.

He turned around and pointed. “Shirt off, Peter. I sleep best skin to skin and you either take it off or I will when you go to sleep.”

Peter frowned, but pulled his t-shirt over his head and dropped it into the chair. “Can we go to sleep now?”

Tony was eyeing him in appreciation. “Most definitely.” He slid into bed first, putting him closest to the wall. Peter noticed. This way, Tony would have him between the door and himself. Yet another thing to help him feel secure. Didn’t matter to him. He eyed those pillows and crawled gratefully into bed. Tony immediately slid closer and Peter pondered for a moment. Usually, he slept curled up around a pillow. Maybe this time, Tony could be the pillow…?

He reached out and rearranged them carefully, spooning against him and surrounded by the softest pillows he’d ever felt in his entire life. Supremely comfortable, he sighed, wrapping his arms around Tony from behind and snuggling into place.

“You good?”

“Oh, yeah.” Tony said a bit breathlessly and Peter smiled. It only took a few minutes before he was sound asleep once more. Completely oblivious to the situation Tony was in.

 

THE END


End file.
